Cost of living remained low in Tanzania in March despite the economic challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic with the 12-month headline inflation easing to 3.4 per cent from 3.7 per cent in February.

The Bank of Tanzania monthly economic review for April released last week reviewed the impact of the pandemic on various sectors of the economy in March when the first cases were reported in the country.

"The impact was mild in February because most of the country’s trading partners had not imposed stringent containment and mitigation measures, plus import and export shipments are ordinarily prepared in advance," says the report, explaining that the impact became much more visible" in March and April.

The headline inflation rate of 3.4 per cent is below the country’s projected five per cent and the East African Community and Southern African Development Corporation convergence criteria of up to eight per cent and between three and seven per cent respectively, BoT said.

Exports performance dropped to $667.6 million compared with $802.3 million in February, associated with relatively modest service receipts from tourism-related activities.

Headline inflation is projected to remain below the medium-term target of five per cent in 2020.