Despite Malawi ratifying the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in 2021 and positioning trade liberalisation as a key strategy for economic growth, majority of Malawians are not aware of the trade pact.
Published Afrobarometer data show that only 12 percent of Malawians have heard of the agreement, a situation the survey results show is low for a policy framework designed to connect African economies, reduce trade barriers and expand market access across the continent.
The survey findings suggest a disconnect between policy direction and public awareness with 60 percent of Malawians supporting easier international trade in principle while many still prefer trade to be limited to Africa at 26 percent or even just the Southern African region at 13 percent.
Reads the Afrobarometer report in part: “While many citizens support international trade, the widespread lack of familiarity with the AfCFTA remains a drag on Malawi’s export potential.
“Comprehensive awareness-raising campaigns that communicate the importance, rationale and benefits of the AfCFTA could reap significant rewards in boosting foreign trade and regional economic integration.”
The AfCFTA, a market of with gross domestic product valued at $3.4 trillion and 1.3 billion people, is intended to create the world’s largest free trade zone, opening opportunities for businesses, farmers, and manufacturers to reach a wider African market.
For a landlocked country such as Malawi, which depends heavily on regional trade routes and neighbouring ports, the agreement could be a game changer.
The development comes months after Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) conceded that lack of awareness and a challenging business environment will affect the country’s implementation of the AfCFTA.
MCCCI chief executive officer Daisy Kambalame said in an interview that while lack of information is slowing the uptake of the AfCFTA pilot initiative, challenges facing the businesses sector could make Malawian goods and services to be uncompetitive initiative
She said: “Businesses in Malawi are facing a number of challenges, including macroeconomic instability, an unfavourable tax regime, forex challenges and lack of affordable financing, making Malawian goods and services uncompetitive, which will likely affect our implementation of the AfCFTA agenda.”
Kambalame, however, said the AfCFTA initiative Guided Trade Initiative, a pilot initiative to accelerate trading by enabling commercially meaningful trading and test the operational, institutional, legal and trade policy environment under the AfCFTA-is attractive to the Malawian private sector.
Meanwhile, a status of negotiations and ratification update published by Trade and Law Centre shows that as of January this year, Malawi can only trade with only 23 member States under the AfCFTA as many other economies have yet to conclude negotiations on tariff concessions and rules of origin.
This legal step allows these countries to apply reduced or zero tariffs on eligible goods traded.
