The seaport and international trade facilitation in developing countries: The case of the seaport of Dar es Salaam

The importance of international trade facilitation is found in the fact that a country or region stands to gain in terms of economic development if it is well integrated in the world economy. International trade makes a country or region gain access to international markets and international sources of supply. Facilitation of international trade involves minimization of cost of trade of which transport costs and inventory costs form part. The transport system can account for a greater portion of trade costs depending on its efficiency. International seaborne trade depends on the efficiency of maritime transport, seaports and hinterland transportation system. Low level of infrastructure development in seaports and hinterland transportation system, especially in low-income developing countries, has been identified as the main source of inefficiency in the transport system. Cost inefficiency arising from concentration of the seaport industry has also been identified as a possible cause of high transport and related costs.;This thesis presents the findings of four research studies conducted in East Africa to find out how transport system facilitates international trade in the region. A stated preference research was conducted in Tanzania (East Africa) to determine monetary values attached to freight transport quality attributes by freight transport users in Tanzania. The values are in terms of willingness to pay (WTP) for quality improvement in the attributes and willingness to accept compensation for deterioration in the quality of the attributes. These values are meant to serve as a guide for transport infrastructure investment and pricing decisions in the region. The thesis also presents the findings of a research conducted to determine the level of concentration and concentration trend in the East Africa seaport system. Results of the research show that the East Africa seaport industry is concentrated and that the concentration is increasing almost steadily. Seaport terminal capacity utilization in East Africa has also been studied and the results show that there is underutilization of seaport terminal capacity in the seaports of the region. Time efficiency and reliability of seaports have also been studied and the results show that the seaports are low in time efficiency and reliability.