Malawi Joins Regional Pact to Slash Transport Expenses

Key Business Points

• Malawi has joined the Maritime Organisation for Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa to lower transport costs and improve trade efficiency.
• Regional maritime cooperation will boost connectivity, support capacity building, and reduce doing business expenses.
• Land-linked economies like Malawi stand to gain from better logistics systems and expanded access to global shipping routes.

Malawi’s commitment to improving the cost and efficiency of moving goods in and out of the country became clearer as officials outlined plans tied to a new partnership. Minister Ben Malunga Phiri, who stood in for Transport Minister Jappie Mhango, spoke during a Maritime Organisation of Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa stakeholders’ workshop in Lilongwe on Thursday. He explained that costs for transporting both exports and imports make up a large part of their final prices, and that lowering these costs would make locally produced goods more competitive abroad while also making imported products more affordable at home.

Phiri emphasized that because shipping and maritime issues span multiple countries and involve complicated global systems, Malawi believes solutions work best when pursued together with others. He said the decision to join Moesna shows Malawi wants regional cooperation to tackle challenges that no single country can solve alone. He described the maritime business as capital-heavy, globally connected, and dominated by networks shaped far beyond Malawi’s borders.

Official Kassim Mpaata, Moesna’s Secretary-General, reinforced this view. He reminded attendees that although oceans carry more than 90 percent of Africa’s international trade, the continent lacks strong representation in shipping ownership, often faces high freight costs set externally, struggles with divided rules, and suffers from weak connections and poor port infrastructure. For countries like Malawi, which do not have their own sea ports and rely on corridors through other countries, these problems are more severe.

The government also wants to use this maritime partnership to expand technology and skills within the trading community, speed up connections to global markets, cut the costs of business operations, and eventually tap into new economic areas under the blue economy umbrella. These steps aim to create a more efficient supply chain that benefits producers, traders, and consumers alike.

Smaller traders and cross-border business owners joined in expressing optimism. Tabitha Kapengule, representing the Crossborder Traders Association of Malawi, said the membership could finally make transport costs fall enough that small-scale traders can afford to mainstream products across borders. For her and others, lower transport costs would remove a major barrier to profitability, making everyday business more viable.

Why it matters: Cheaper and more efficient freight lines mean Malawian goods can compete more strongly in foreign markets and imported products become less expensive for local consumers. The participation in regional maritime collaboration aims to ensure every stage of the transport chain improves, making it easier and more profitable to do business in Malawi.

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