LILONGWE (MaraviPost)—The Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) has embarked a national wide awareness campaign on value-added export products courting the country’s business captains amid South Africa Development Countries (Sadc) and Common Market for Eastern and South Africa (COMESA) for Malawi’s agro-processing products.
MITC is currently implementing Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) program through the projected titled, “Support to Agro-processing Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Road Map and Promotion of Value-added Export”, aimed at promoting value added products through Nacala Corridor to Malawi’s regional markets comprising of Mozambique, Zambia, South Africa, DRC, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.
Since the inception of EIF which MITC in conjunction with National Association of Smallholder Farmers in Malawi (NASFAM) is implementing expects improved access to market information within three years of its life span.
In an exclusive interview with The Maravi Post on Tuesday, April 26, in the capital Lilongwe after hosting the first ever central region consultation conference, Maxwell Biwi, MITC’s Trade Promotion and Facilitation Director emphasized the need for Malawi’s business captains in agro-processing sector to make use of the initiative for their products which are highly needed in two regional trade groupings; SADC and COMESA.
Biwi further assured stakeholders in the agro-processing that Malawi government through his institution has established an office in Tete, Mozambique in order to facilitate exporting of Malawi’s products beyond Nacala corridor zones.
“The pace at which Malawi is doing on exporting agro-processing products, it’s a very worrisome as the nation is losing out for better markets in these two viable regional base; COMESA and SADC. There’s much demand for Malawian products from these regional market as we share the same consumption base. With the opening of our office in Tete Mozambique, we expect to explore more markets for our traders through Feasibility study we are to embark on.
“We want our products beating others commodities when are on this markets hence. This is the reason we are promoting value-added export product where business captains in agro-processing will cherish the EIF which has two components. Through national consultations we are embarking, we want to solicit and empower our traders on how best can exploit the market opportunities available in these trade regional bodies”, assures Biwi.
Echoing on the same, Daniel Thanthwe Kachale EIF Project Officer in the Ministry of Industry and Trade assured the general public of already made market for Malawi Products saying the program is the catalyst to business ventures which will increase competitiveness of the Malawian Value products including beverages, sugar cane and oil seed products for export.
“The EIF has two components including AP-SEZ and promotion of smallholder farmers’ linkages to agro-processor through the anchor farm model projects which will runs for a period of three years with expectation to facilitate access to regional and international markets for Malawi’s products. Therefore, with the involvement of other executing agencies including Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) and Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) the initiative will bear intended objective hence agro-processing traders needs to embrace it for the their business growth and the nation at large”, appeals Kachale.
The Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) is a joint initiative of the World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Trade Organization (WTO) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) aimed at addressing trade-related development challenges for the Least Developed Countries ( LDCs).