Tanzania and Malawi Target Value Addition and Regional Supply Chains to Expand Bilateral Trade, Starting With Soy

Tanzania-Malawi bilateral trade should move to joint value addition and shared supply chains rather than raw commodity exchange, ministers and investment agencies from both countries told at the 3rd Malawi-Tanzania Investment and Trade Forum.

The Forum runs from 7 to 9 September 2026 at the headquarters of the Tanzania Trade Development Authority (TanTrade) in Dar es Salaam, during which it was highlighted that Tanzanian exports to Malawi stand at USD 89.46 million against USD 15.169 million of imports, a surplus that has widened by nearly 79% over five years.

The Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism of Malawi, Simon Itaye, said Malawi can supply raw materials including soybeans for processing by Tanzanian industry, with the finished goods sold in both markets and beyond.

The Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade of Tanzania, Denis Londo, put the immediate scope for additional Tanzanian exports to Malawi at around USD 6 million, in furniture, cleaning products, tiles, construction materials, vegetable seeds, soap, and iron products.

He urged the government and the business community to move quickly on those openings rather than waiting for the trade volumes to grow on their own.

The Director General of TanTrade, Ephraim Mafuru, said Tanzania exported goods worth more than USD 86 million to Malawi last year, and urged Tanzanian traders to use the forum to meet Malawian buyers directly.

TanTrade data presented at the forum showed exports to Malawi rising about 40% over five years while imports from Malawi fell from USD 22.4 million, against total Tanzanian exports of USD 17.6 billion in 2025 and export growth of 10.2%.

The Director of Investment Promotion at the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (TISEZA), George Mkono, said Tanzania is targeting Malawian investors specifically for projects adding value to raw materials produced in Malawi, with soybeans the leading candidate.

He reminded the audience that TISEZA’s one-stop facilitation centre houses more than 15 government institutions and can register a company in a single day, and encouraged Tanzanian businesses to look at opportunities inside Malawi rather than treating the relationship as an export market only.

The Acting Director General of the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC), Bisa Namarika, put untapped bilateral export potential at 31%, against a Tanzanian GDP of USD 90 billion and a Malawian GDP of USD 14 billion.

He said Malawi’s exports remain concentrated in unprocessed soya, wood, sugar, tea, coffee, and mineral products, while Tanzania ships back manufactured goods including washing powder, petroleum products, and flat rolled iron and steel.

The Tanzanian side proposed five bilateral measures to promote trade: a joint mechanism to resolve non-tariff barriers, faster border processes, mutual recognition of standards and sanitary requirements, corridor performance indicators covering cost, time and reliability, and joint investment in shared value chains.

In addition, negotiations on a direct air link between the two countries were described as being at an advanced stage.

The Tanzania-Malawi Trade Corridor

Landlocked Malawi routes part of its overseas cargo through the Port of Dar es Salaam, crossing at Kasumulu on the Tanzanian side and Songwe on the Malawian side.

The Songwe crossing operates as a one-stop border post where the Tanzania Revenue Authority and the Malawi Revenue Authority clear goods at a single facility.

It was built under a World Bank programme worth USD 91.7 million that also covered the Dedza and Mwanza posts on the Mozambique border and Malawi’s electronic single window.

Both countries are members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and signatories to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).