Malawi on Thursday bemoaned challenges the country is facing to export some of its products to India.
Minister of Trade Sosten Gwengwe raised the concern during the India-Malawi Business Round Table presided over by India President Shrimati Droupadi Murmu.
While acknowledging that Malawi can attest to the growing trade and investment relations between the two countries, Gwengwe observed that there remains some teething problems for Malawi to export some products to the Asian nation.
He said while Malawi is a beneficiary of the Duty Free Preferential Trading Scheme India offered to least-developed countries (LDCs) some of Malawi’s exports, such as mangoes and macadamia, to India still face some high tariffs, which Malawi calls for their elimination in order to fully enjoy the preferences accorded to Malawi under the scheme.
“It is observed that there are some powerful individuals in India who are highly connected to the powers and are the ones causing all the challenges with an aim of monopolising the pigeon peas trade.
“I would like to urge you to take decisive measures to expose the perpetrators of the uncalled-for behaviours to allow smooth implementation of the memorandum of understanding,” Gwengwe said.
He described the challenge of insufficient production of the existing value chains as an opportunity for Indian investors to partner locals.
According to Gwengwe, Malawi wants investors to come in with mega production interventions in order to improve commodity production as well as productivity to remain competitive.
“It is time to finalise the same in order to have a good tool for facilitating and promoting investments in all sectors,” he said.
On her part, Murmu, who arrived on Thursday morning, called for increased cooperation between Malawi and India in the areas of agriculture, mining, tourism and energy.
According to Murmu, bilateral trade between India and Malawi has been growing despite the Covid-induced economic downturn.
She said India is currently the fourth largest trading partner of Malawi and that India is also one of the largest investors in Malawi with over $500 million worth of investments in various sectors.
According to Murmu, Malawi is a country rich in natural resources and fertile agricultural land. On the other hand, she said, India has the largest consumer base with increased demand for energy, minerals and food for its large population.
“Both countries can come together and find synergies in many areas.
“There is an immense hope of enhancing our cooperation in the field of agriculture, mining, energy and tourism,” she said.
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