Malawi experienced a dramatic decline in exports and a substantial surge in imports in February, a trade bulletin published by the National Statistical Office (NSO) shows.
The official figures show total exports plummeting by 40.9 percent to $32.6 million, compared to the $55.1 million exports recorded during the same period in 2024.
Month-on-month, Malawi’s exports recorded a 74 percent drop from the $126.7 million exports recorded in January 2025.
On the other hand, imports dramatically increased from $181.6 million to $293.7 million, representing a 61.7 percent jump.
This led to a trade deficit growth of $261.1 million in February 2025, up by 106.4 percent from $126.2 million in February 2024.
Imports in February increased by $20.2 million compared to imports worth $273.5 million recorded in January 2025.
“The export-to-import ratio is 0.1, indicating that exports were equivalent to 10 percent of the import value in February 2025,” the bulletin reads.
Economist Edward Chilima said declining exports and a corresponding increase in imports was not desirable.
“It is worrying that the export side of the equation has been declining as well. It means the export strategy is not performing as expected,” he said.
Another economist Velli Nyirongo said the sharp decline in exports suggested a weakening of the country’s competitiveness on international markets, which could be attributed to supply-side constraints or reduced global demand for domestic goods.
He said the significant rise in imports highlighted increasing dependence on foreign goods, potentially driven by production shortfalls or growing domestic demand for imported commodities.
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