Ministry of Energy and Mining has advised Malawians against panicking over fuel stockouts in some service stations nationwide, assuring that supply is projected to stabilize by Friday.
The Nation observed that from last week availability of fuel, especially petrol, has been erratic in Zomba, Lilongwe and Blantyre, among other places.
But in an interview yesterday, Ministry of Energy and Mining spokesperson Joan Thaundi said that 52 trucks carrying diesel and petrol have already left Dar es Salaam in Tanzania for Malawi.
She said more tankers were loading fuel at the Indian Ocean port in Tanzania with 20 expected to leave for Malawi today.
“We expect that by Friday we would have received a total of 100 trucks of fuel and supply would have stabilised,” said Thaundi.
In the past four years, Malawi has grappled with fuel supply challenges largely attributed to shortage of foreign exchange but supply has been stable for the past four months.
Currently, the conflict involving Israel, US and Iran in the Middle East has disrupted traffic flow around the Strait of Hormuz which handles around 25 percent of global crude oil trade.
Thaundi conceded that the disruption has resulted in high demand for fuel from alternative sources with suppliers prioritizing those with readily available cash.
She said: “However, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation is ensuring that the energy sector is prioritised through provision of forex to ensure sustained supply of fuel.”
In a separate interview, Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) consumer affairs and public relations manager Fitina Khonje confirmed the stockouts, but said stakeholders in the energy sector are working to ensure replenishments.
Fuel Retailers Association of Malawi chairperson Happy Jere said yesterday that the volumes that retailers are receiving have declined over the past three weeks.
He further said in some cases it is taking two or three days for fuel to be delivered, resulting in stockouts.
On average, Malawi consumes one million litres of petrol and one million litres of diesel per day, translating to 60 million litres of petrol and diesel per month and 720 million litres of both items per year.
Following the disruptions in the Middle East, President Peter Mutharika ordered relevant government ministries, departments and agencies to strategise and develop an action plan to ensure security of fuel supply.
The team included the Ministry of Finance, that of Energy and Mining, National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma), Mera, Office of the President and Cabinet and Reserve Bank of Malawi.
In December, Nocma said it would import about 412 000 metric tonnes (about 549 million litres) of fuel in the 2026/27 financial year, an equivalent of 60 percent of the country’s consumption.
On the other hand, the Petroleum Importers of Limited, a consortium of private sector oil marketing firms, also issued its tender calling for supplies of about 176 300 metric tonnes (about 200 million litres).
