Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) says the upgraded product certification system will enable Malawi to actively participate in mutual recognition agreements with other regional regulatory authorities.
MBS director general Bernard Thole said this on Monday in Blantyre during a stakeholder consultation on the introduction of ISO/IEC 17065 Product Certification Scheme.
assessment is key. | Nation
The new conformity assessment system, whose implementation starts next month, is an international standard that prescribes requirements for bodies providing certification of products, processes and services.
Thole said the importance of credible conformity assessment is key, especially now that Malawi continues to operationalise its commitments under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a market of 1.3 billion people and a combined gross domestic product of $3.4 trillion.
He said: “Mutual recognition agreements allow trading partners to recognise the results of each other conformity assessment procedures, which not only boosts trust in our systems, but also reduces duplication, lowers costs and expedites market entry.”
Thole said under AfCFTA, technical barriers to trade have to be minimised, adding that standardisation and mutual recognition are critical tools in achieving this.
MBS quality assurance services director Gloria Mereka indicated that the new system is designed to provide a credible platform for product certification that helps to build consumer trust, meets regulatory and market access requirements and opens the doors to regional and international markets.
One of the participants, Satemwa Tea and Coffee Estate quality manager Mary Pompi said the new scheme offers hope for improved business prospects.
Malawi entered into a mutual recognition agreement on conformity assessment with Zambia earlier this month, promoting trade of agricultural products such as maize, beans and rice by acknowledging each other’s testing and certification methods.
Additionally, Malawi is working towards finalising a comparable mutual recognition agreement with Zimbabwe to further support the objectives of the AfCFTA.
The Malawi Government recognises the AfCFTA as an opportunity to achieve its goal of expanding and diversifying the export products and services at regional and global levels under the National Export Strategy II.
The AfCFTA is probably the world’s largest free trade area bringing together 55 countries and eight regional economic communities to create a single market for the continent.
