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 almost half of total exports, as the country is one of the world's largest producers of tobacco. Other major exports include groundnuts, tea, dried vegetables, and agricultural products in general. Imports are led by refined petroleum (18.6% of total imports in 2023), fertilizers, clothing, and medicaments (data Comtrade).

According to the latest data available by Comtrade, the main export destinations of Malawi in 2023 were Belgium (15.9%), Tanzania (10.8%), China (5.6%), South Africa (5.4%), and Zimbabwe (5.3%); whereas the top import origins were China (17.4%), South Africa (15.6%), the United Arab Emirates (12.4%), India (7.0%), Tanzania (6.7%), and Zambia (4.1%).

Malawi’s trade balance is structurally in deficit. In 2023, imports of goods declined by 1.6% to USD 1.56 billion, while the country exported goods for a value of around USD 880 million (-2.2% – data WTO).  Concerning services, imports stood at USD 550 million against USD 398 million in exports. According to preliminary figures from the NSO, the trade deficit widened to 6.3% of GDP in 2024, as it reached USD 2,31 billion (from 2.17 billion one year earlier). Total imports of goods and services surged to USD 3.26 billion throughout the year, with exports falling short of the one billion mark (927 million).