During the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC)  54th Meeting in Blantyre on 9th January 2020, 72 cases were brought before the Commission in accordance with Section 8 of the Competition and Fair Trading Act; the Commission adjudicated over seventy-two (72) cases of which twenty-four

(24) were on alleged unfair trading practices; 19 on Restrictive Business Practices, twenty-three (23) were on COMESA Mergers while six (6) were on local mergers.

One of the notable merger cases was that the Commission authorised the acquisition of Dairibord Limited by Lilongwe Dairy (2001) Limited. According to a statement by CFTC, the acquiring firm, Lilongwe Dairy was a company registered in Malawi, whose main line of business was manufacturing dairy products and fruit juices such as First Choice Fresh

Milk, UHT Flavoured Milk, Flavoured Yoghurt, and Long Life Yoghurt drink, Flavoured Drinking Yoghurt, ghee, Enjoy, Sunpride, fruit flavoured drinks and sour milk drink commonly known as Chambiko.

Milk company Dairibord Holdings Limited (DHL) is pulled out of Malawi last year, citing losses. According to the Diariboard Chief Executive Officer, the board opted to close down after seeking potential investors to turn around the business was unsuccessful.

CFTC assessment established that the merger would create a dominant player. The development comes when the milk production sector has bemoaned lack of profitable markets.