National Oil Company of Malawi (Nocma) has announced plans to import about 412 000 metric tonnes of fuel in the 2026/27 financial year, an equivalent of year or 60 percent of the country’s consumption.
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.
In notices inviting suppliers advertised last week, Nocma said it is seeking bids from suppliers to deliver the fuel through Beira and Nacala ports in Mozambique as well as Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania.
The company’s spokesperson Raymond Likambale said in an interview that suppliers with contractual obligations will continue to supply the fuel until their contractual volumes are fully delivered.
He said in a written response: “Be reminded that Nocma is one of several entities with fuel import licences.
“Import licences are issued by Mera [Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority] to applicants, who have satisfied a specific criteria.”
According to the tender that The Nation has seen, Malawi is still facing low foreign exchange availability, as such there is need for bidders to have innovative solutions such as granting of open credit and acceptance to be paid in other currencies including euro, rand and pound.
Meanwhile, the Petroleum Importers of Limited (PIL), a consortium of private sector oil marketing firms, has also issued its tender calling for suppliers of about 176 300 metric tonnes of fuel for the 2026/27 fiscal year.
Last week, PIL general manager Martin Msimuko confirmed to The Nation that the importers will also have their share of the importation contracts.
Meanwhile, Nocma says it has started re-stocking the strategic fuel reserves.
“Fuel importation is a continuous process. As some tankers are offloading, others are in transit. We have however accumulated significant volumes especially on petrol. We should expect a similar trend for diesel,” Likambale said.
Commenting on the development, Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) executive director John Kapito said consumers have “suffered from fuel queues” in the recent past and hoped for the better.
In November this year, Nocma chief executive officer Clement Kanyama said the fuel reserves have been empty since November 2024.
For about four years, Malawi has grappled with fuel supply challenges largely attributed to shortage of foreign exchange.
