By Wilfred Golden

Malawi Investment Trade Centre (MITC) says the trade sector in the country is struggling due to unsustainability of its export deals.

Chief Executive Officer at MITC Paul Kwengwere made the remarks in Lilongwe during the 2023 senstization workshop for the up-coming Inter- Africa Trade fair to be held in Cairo, Egypt next month.

Kwengwere said as a country there is a need for citizens to be producing more exports in order to meet the expected demand outside the country.

“Most of the times we found that we click a deal but we are not able to sustain the supply, what we are doing is to work with the ministry of Agriculture, in this case I can also bring in the concept of mega farms which will also going to improve productivity, we are hoping that with more people participating in mega farms we will increase our production that will really help to make sure that anyone that has got a contract out there should make sure that is able to make supplies effectively.

“We usually tend to have an advantage after the rainy season when we have just harvested, but then in this particular case with the mega farms we have two times production because of the heavy equipment that might come in with availability of mega farms,” he highlighted.

Kwengwere added that the up-coming Inter- Africa Trade Fair will have positive yields as business people will be able to seal potential deals that will enable them to sustainably export more.

“Most of the time what matters most is good preparation, we have placed in good pavilions, we have got a private sector which is going there with good quality products, and I don’t have any doubt that we are going to click some deals,” he said.

In her remarks, principal sectary in the ministry of trade and industry Christina Zakeyu who was representing the Minister of Trade, said the initiative of coming up with mega farms in the country is one of the things that will ensure sustainability of export deals in the country.

“The Malawi Investment Trade Centre and Export Development Fund they have been mobilizing public sector participation in this event and over 30 participants have confirmed to take part in this event. So this meeting today is very crucial as we share more information about the up coming event because this event does not involve only Malawi but we are also looking at other 55 countries that will also participate in the event, so as a county, so we have a comparative advantage as with the up coming mega farms we will be producing more and we have to look for markets and not only that but also this Inter- Africa Trade Fair gives opportunities for countries like Malawi to work with investors that can be able to invest in different sectors.

“So many sectors have to take part in this Inter- Africa Trade Fair because these investors will be there to see who they can talk to and see where they can find their way and we believe that Malawi is a right destination for these investors to come and invest,” she highlighted.

The workshop was organized by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in conjunction with Malawi Investment Trade Centre and Export Development Fund and was held under the theme; “Unlocking Opportunities for Malawi”.

It also involved different business players and investors.

This year’s inter-Africa Trade Fair is slated to take place from 9th to 15th November, 2023 in Cairo, Egypt where 52 African countries are expected to showcase their investments.