One major problem mentioned by all firms in the sample is that of cumbersome, bureaucratic and lengthy procedures for licensing, access to credit and foreign exchange, and export documentation. Some exporters have to travel long distances from the regions to Dar es Salaam simply to register themselves. There are also still tight bureaucratic bottlenecks in the administration of foreign exchange allocation, resulting in long lead times for imports. Delays could be even more disastrous for risk exports such as fresh fruits and fish. All this suggests the need to establish some kind of an export centre that would offer at one location a package of relevant export services such as registration, licensing, proofs of ownership, export advice and export promotion.
Supportive infrastructure is another important prerequisite for successful exporting.
Expensive, sporadic and unreliable transport and communications are a serious impediment to the exporters of non-traditional goods. Reliability of delivery is also critical. High transport costs contribute greatly to the lack of competitiveness of exports. Poor telecommunications and constant power and water interruptions also raise the costs of doing business and compound the problem of lack of information. There are serious weaknesses in the existing supportive institutional infrastructure as well.