The 2019 African Union Commission report has stated that Malawi and other African countries have become less competitive in terms of trade.

The report, produced jointly with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), suggests that the situation is a result of a decline in the region’s impact on world production and trade.

The report has said that Malawi is not competitive in trade as she solely relies on tobacco, while her Small and Medium Enterprises rely on their own funding. “In Malawi, banks favour large and export-oriented enterprises. Recent evidence also suggests that due to a lack of project preparatory finance, even when funding for project implementation is available, countries in the region lack a pipeline of projects that have reached bankable feasibility.” says part of the report.

In March this year, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) has released a report that has outlined its member countries’ contribution towards the initiative, and the report shows that Malawi’s contribution has remained at 0.15% in the past 2 years. The Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) chief executive officer Chancellor Kaferapanjira attributed the static progress of 0.15% to weak manufacturing base and continued overreliance on the domestic market which is hampering local companies for utilising Agoa.