Malawi government asked to evaluate TFTA

Following the signing of the Tripartite Free Trade Area two weeks ago, one of the country’s marketers has asked the government to make a critical assessment on how Malawi could benefit from the agreement.

Candlex Limited General Manager Fredrick Changaya said while the country stands to benefit in the grand design, there is a need for further critical assessment.

“I’m not too sure if we have done a due diligence as a country in terms of relative and comparative advantages with other economies,” said Changaya.

“We are landlocked and other economies are bigger than us. Based on the countries’ economies, Malawi is the weaker economy in the tripartite,” he said.

Changaya said Malawi has suffered in terms of inward competition from countries like Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe because the country does enjoy economies of scale in production.

He said the authorities must have done their homework well before signing the agreement to ensure that the country benefits from the agreement.

“We need to analyse what products we think will have the benefits of the TFTA arrangement. Otherwise, we will end up having a trading nation because finished products coming from the region into the country will increase,” said Changaya.

He said Malawi also needs to look into the economic and infrastructural network in the country.

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