Malawi’s export shipments are being returned for failing to meet international standards with up to 70 percent of sesame affected by this setback, it has emerged.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said this scenario is costing Malawi potential foreign exchange revenue.
The revelation was made on Monday in Blantyre during a specialised training on method validation for food quality and safety testing conducted by the National Metrology Institute of South Africa with support from the Government of Japan through WFP.
In an interview, Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) deputy director general Thomas Senganimalunje said while the country is already failing to meet export demand, most of the sesame sent to Japan are of substandard quality.
He said: “When a product is being shipped to international markets, it has to meet several minimum requirements. Things like contamination, pesticide residue or improper grading also come into play.
“These are some of the reasons why the shipments are returned to Malawi.”
Senganimalunje added that Malawi is not yet accredited to test and certify sesame for the export market, adding that the training seeks to address the gap by instilling technical competence of staff and the right equipment.
He said while MBS is already accredited in over 150 scopes, sesame exports accreditation will also allow for other oil products such as groundnuts and macadamia, where oil is extracted from, to benefit as the tests, which are applicable to sesame will be applicable to all other crops.
WFP deputy country director Simon Denhere says for Malawi to fully capitalise on opportunities in regional and international trade, the economy must meet stringent food safety, quality and certification standards.
He said the capacitating of MBS will enable the standards organisation to monitor and improve food quality and safety of the crops produced locally, which could help improve access to foreign exchange.
Said Denhere: “Sesame is one of the priority value chains under our Joint Value Chain Development Project, implemented in close coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and other partners.
“However, for Malawi to fully capitalise on opportunities in regional and international trade, we must consistently meet stringent food safety, quality and certification standards.”
Sesame is guaranteed 200 000 metric tonnes (MT) of the export market in Japan, but production levels remain low, according to WFP.
In 2022, Malawi produced 6 000MT of the crop before rising to 11 000MT last year.
In the 2023/24 agriculture season, sesame price averaged K2 100 per kilogramme (kg), but other buyers offered as high as K3 000 per kg, which was above the farm-gate prices of almost all crops set by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Sesame Development Trust chairperson and African Institute for Corporate Citizenship chief executive officer Driana Lwanda is quoted as having said that there are efforts by various players to develop the sesame value chain after observing the vast potential of the crop, which is used for oil production and in confectionery.
