Malawi receives K160 billion orders from Middle East

The Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (Mitc), has recorded export orders worth $221 540 000 (about K160 billion) from the just ended Agra Middle East Dubai International Convention and Exhibition (AgraME) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The orders are mainly for agricultural products such as groundnuts, chick peas, cotton lint, rice, cooking oil and soya beans. 

Mitc public relations manager, Deliby Chimbalu, said in a statement that attending the exhibition provided the opportunity not only to promote Malawian goods for export to the UAE, but also to other countries in the Middle East and around the globe.

‘Dubai’s unique placement as a hub for imports and exports provided a great platform and opportunity for us to market what we produce here in Malawi. And we are happy that we have generated export inquiries from this exhibition.

“What remains is for us to inform the business community about these opportunities and make follow-ups so that the orders are fulfilled,” explained Chimbalu.

The AgraME trade fair in Dubai provided exposure for Malawian agricultural products to a market that is ripe for export. As a barren country, the UAE imports almost all of its agricultural products, as do many other countries in the Middle East.

Compared to other trade partners with the UAE, Malawi is still looking to break into the market and there are many products that Malawi can find a competitive advantage with, including vegetables, meat, seed cakes, coffee, tea, sugar and oils, among others. n