Malawian fuel transporters have protested a 20 percent cut in haulage rates from August 1 this year and have withdrawn at least 100 trucks from contracts.
Transporters Association of Malawi says Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) has reduced the rate for transporting fuel from Tanga port in Tanzania to Blantyre from K900 to about K700 per tonne per kilometre (km).
Further breakdown shows that the rate from Dar es Salaam to Chilumba in Karonga has been reduced from K593.25 to K481.62 per tonne per km, representing 19 percent reduction while Beira in Mozambique rates are down from K594.78 to K419.75 per tonne per km, representing 17 percent reduction.
The Tanga to Lilongwe route is now down from K853.60 to K712.79 per tonne per km, a 16 percent reduction while Tanga to Blantyre has been reduced from K924.42 to K794.58 per tonne per km representing 14 percent reduction.
The association’s spokesperson Frank Banda said in an interview yesterday that the reduction was disproportionate to the fuel pump price cut and made the business unprofitable for local transporters.
He said: “The reduction is a huge drop and because of that it is like the transporters are just transporting for free.
“There is no profit in that and most transporters are withdrawing from fuel transportation.”
Banda said 100 tankers have since been withdrawn from a fleet of about 450 Malawi-registered tankers involved in fuel transportation.
He said the number of local tankers has been declining since 2020 because of low transport rates, from 850 trucks to about 450 and now around 350 following the latest withdrawals.
Banda warned that continued withdrawal of local transporters would force government to rely more on foreign operators, resulting in increased foreign exchange outflows.
“The government has been engaging foreign transporters who are being paid in United States (US) dollars. That much-needed forex would have been saved and spent on other strategic commodities,” he said.
Banda questioned why Tanzanian transporters were being paid in forex while Malawian operators were paid in kwacha, forcing them to source forex at higher rates on the black market.
He acknowledged that the foreign transporters are also paid the same rates, but the payments are in US dollars at the official bank rate while local transporters are paid in kwacha equivalent when they have to source foreign exchange on the parallel market whose rates are over double the official one.
Banda said fuel transporters are migrating to dry cargo where they are able to make profits. He said for a trip to Dar es Salaam, dry cargo transporters’ profits are in the range of K10 million to K15 million as they are paid to and from at a rate of K15 million one way.
The association has since requested a meeting with government to discuss the matter, which is expected to take place next week.
Banda also warned that continued withdrawal of local transporters would result in job losses and reduced tax revenue.
Mera reduced the pump price of diesel by 7.2 percent from K6 306 to K5 863 with effect from August 1 2026. On June 18, the regulator also reduced diesel prices from K6 687 to K6 306, representing a 5.7 percent reduction.
Yesterday, Mera consumer affairs and public relations manager Fitina Khonje said when working out the rates the regulator strives to strike a balance between the interests of the players in the supply chain and those of consumers.
“Transport rates are reviewed in response to movements in the key elementsused to compute them, one such element is the price of fuel,” she said.
Khonje said the currency payment arrangements are informed by the country’s Exchange Control Regulations which provide for payment in local currency to local businesses.
She urged the hauliers to directly approach Mera for clarity.
In July this year, truck drivers affiliated to Bulk Vehicle Operators Trade Union threatened to ground fuel tankers, accusing Mera of failing to honour their agreement that Nocma should commit 85 percent of the contractual fuel transportation volumes to Malawian transporters.
