Lawmakers advise on boosting export earnings

The Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture says Malawi should emulate how other countries in Africa have curbed informal trading and improve export earnings through the commodity exchange concept.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Thursday on return from Ethiopia where some lawmakers visited the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange on a learning tour,  the committee’s chairperson Joseph Chidanti Malunga said Malawi should emulate the East African country on how it formalised commodity trading and  tripled its exports through the exchange.

“Our farmers grow huge quantities of grain and legumes, but it is only Indian and Burundian traders who are benefiting as they are allowed to export without following any rules.

“A commodity exchange is well supported by appropriate laws and policies that allow farmers to access export prices while enabling the government to track export proceeds,” he said

Currently, Malawi has two commodity exchanges-AHL Commodities Exchange (AHCX) and the Agricultural Commodities Exchange for Africa (ACE).

In earlier interview, AHCX general manager Davis Manyenje said with so much informal trade, there is a lot of export under-declaration and informalities that are costing the country.

“As structured markets, we come with efficiency, transparency and fairness in the pricing mechanism on the markets. With that we ensure that all export proceeds are accounted for,” he said.