Xifres de comerç exterior de Malawi

Foreign Trade in Figures

Malawi is relatively open to international trade: the country is a member of the WTO and has bilateral trade agreements with two of its main trade partners, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Malawi is also a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a U.S. trade preference program. As part of its trade policy, the country has been gradually reducing protections granted to domestic trade by shifting its sources of revenue from customs duties to consumption and direct taxes. Overall, Malawi's economy remains heavily dependent on agriculture, and its exports and imports reflect this reliance on primary and intermediate goods: tobacco accounts for more than half of total exports, as the country is one of the world's largest producers of tobacco. Other major exports include tea, sugar, and agricultural products in general. Imports are led by refined petroleum (7.2% of total imports), machinery, transport equipment, fertilizers and medicaments.

According to the latest data available by Comtrade, the main export destinations of Malawi are Belgium (20.8%), South Africa (6.2%), the United Kingdom (6%), Kenya (5.1%), the United States (4.6%), Zimbabwe (4.5%), China (4.4%) and Tanzania (4.3%). The top import origins are South Africa (20.6%), China (16.2%), the United Arab Emirates (10.1%), India (7.7%), the United Kingdom (4.6%) and Zambia (4.4% - data 2021).

Malawi’s trade balance is structurally in deficit. In 2021, imports of goods reached USD 3.2 billion, while the country exported goods for a value of USD 1 billion (+15.5% and +31.3% year-on-year, respectively – data WTO). The trade deficit has been contracting in recent years, a trend that was exacerbated in 2022 as imports collapsed reflecting the impact of foreign exchange shortages. While alleviating the external balance, the unavailability of foreign exchange led to shortages of imported goods (World Bank).