TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

TRADE ASSOCIATIONS

Trade association may be defined as a homogeneously constituted group of manufacturers,

producers, merchants, dealers or members of any other trade, who have come together in order to
streamline the way they produce and market a particular product or a specified range of products.
These Associations provide representative and other collective products and services to
businesses (and sometimes individuals) with common interests

Also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body,
is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An
industry trade association participates in public relations activities such as advertising, education,
political donations, lobbying and publishing, but its focus is collaboration between companies. In
return for a subscription fee, Associations offer many products and services including producing
conferences, training and educational materials, technical advice, networking, charitable events
and publications to name a few.

However, Trade Association’s main focuses are often as a representative body putting forward
the collective view and position of it s members, generally to government departments, agencies
and regulators and also to the media and other opinion formers. Trade Associations are usually
non- profit organisations with a governing body made up of elected representatives from its
member s, de pending upon their Rules and Constitution.

Examples of trade associations in Tanzania include Tanzania Exporters Association (TANEXA),

Tanzania Shipping Agents Association (TASAA) Tanzania Bankers Association (TBA), The
Medical Association of Tanzania (MAT), Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF),
Confederation of Tanzania Industries, Tanzania Women Miners Association (TAWOMA),
Tanzania Truck Owners Association (TATOA)
 OBJECTIVES AND FUNCTIONS OF TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
Principle objectives for many of the trade associations are to:

 Promote & protect members' interests & improve the regulatory/ business environment for
its industry
 Encourage & assist the prosperity of the industry
 Provide interfaces between the industry & other organisations

While generally, the functions of trade associations include to:

 Protect the common interest of all business within the association

 Standardize trade procedures and practices, for, designs and contract preparations
 Organize, advertise and public relations to cater for all member businesses
 Send representatives to serve on various committees and boards set up by the government
 To represent members grievances to the government and seek redressal
 Provide credit rating information to members
 Conduct status inquiries in response to the requests of members
 Conduct market research that benefits all members
 Set standards for inter-company comparisons
 Facilitate efficient production and costing methods
 Publish bullets or journals to circulate among members in order to disseminate new information,
exchange views and share experiences to provide a forum for constructive criticism and
discussions among members

Advantages of Trade associations

Derived from the roles played by trade associations, the following are some of the advantages of
these organisations:

1. It protects and promotes the interests of its members. It can take up issues relating to the
respective authorities for redressal and corrective action. For e.g. it can take up issues such as:
insufficient infrastructural facilities, high inputs costs, problem of cheap imports which affects
the survival of local firms with the government and request it to take suitable remedial measures.

2. The association serves as a forum for members to interact with each other. Members can
discuss key issues, share knowledge about industry trends, consumer preferences, best practices
followed etc. This kind of knowledge sharing enables companies to implement appropriate
measures and achieve efficiency and profitability.

3. Trade associations can undertake research and development to innovate new products,
processes etc. Individual firms face resource constraints in undertaking research and any new
innovation would benefit that individual firm. But the fruits of the research and development
efforts of trade associations would benefit all the members.

4. Trade associations can engage market research agencies to conduct market research on
consumer preferences and expectations. They can sponsor delegations of members to foreign
countries to find out the market potential.

5. They play an important role in settling conflicts and disputes among members. They can use
the services of members who enjoy a good reputation to settle disputes between members. This
saves the members from expensive litigation which might also take up a lot of members’ time.

6. Trade associations prevent members from indulging in unfair trade practices. They ensure that
members do not engage in cut-throat competition and promote the orderly development of the
industry.

Despite the functions that the trade associations serve which bring advantages to members in
their respective common interest, they have some challenges which include

 Many are under-resourced or do not understand the impacts on their members

 Trade associations tend to concentrate on a specific industry – but customers react to
markets & technologies – the focus is therefore too narrow
 Even if the industry is understood, what about specialism's outside the industry, such as
management systems, adjacent sectors & technologies
 This leaves members exposed to risks, including:

 Being surprised by new technologies or external threats to their business

 Loss of business or revenue to other sectors
 Unable to compete due to incompatibility of products or processes
 Late in meeting regulations or standards, with possible liability consequence

CONSUMER ASSOCIATIONS

Consumer association is a common name for consumer protection organisations. These

organizations primarily research into the safety and effectiveness of products and defend the
interests of the people who buy them.

The aim of consumer protection, be it through legislation or through voluntary consumer

associations may be summarized as follows

1. To ensure that goods being sold are safe. The goods should not be harmful to the
consumer’s health
2. To ensure that goods and services being sold are of the quality they deemed to be. This is
intended to enhance the production of goods which adequately provide the satisfaction
which the producer claims they can provide
3. To ensure that the process of selling goods and services, the terms, both express and
implied, of the contract are satisfied. This gives the consumer the right to air his
grievances when the seller unfairly changes the terms of the contract of sale
4. The consumer should have good value for his money. This entails protection of the
consumer from adulterated goods or goods of doubtful origin
5. To guarantee reliability of weights and measurements as well as trade descriptions for
goods and services
6. In case of hire purchase contracts, to ensure that the terms clearly stated and adhered to
so that the seller does not unfairly repossess the goods
7. To protect the consumer against harmful behaviors such as driving after drinking alcohol
or indulging in using harmful products
8. To ensure that the consumer is generally protected under any other conceivable
circumstances where the producer, seller or creditor may be inclined to take advantage of
him

CLASS ACTIVITY: Research on the interests of Tanzania Consumer Advocacy Society

(TCAS) and Fair Competition Commission (FCC) with regards to consumer protection