Economy of Malawi

Economy of Malawi

Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June
Trade organizations	WTO, Southern African Development Community
Statistics
GDP	$3.683 billion (2013 est.) (nominal; 150th) $15.02 billion (2013 est.) (PPP; 146th)
GDP rank	150th (nominal) / 146h (PPP)
GDP growth	+6.2% (2015 est.)
GDP per capita	900 (2013 est.) (PPP)
GDP by sector	agriculture 29.4%, industry 18.9%, services 51.7% (2013 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	26.9% (2013 est.)
Population below poverty line	50.7% (2013 est.)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 80%, industry and services: 20%
Ease-of-doing-business rank	164th[1]
External
Exports	$1.427 billion (2013 est.)
Export goods	tobacco, coffee, tea, sugar, uranium, cotton, nuts, dried fish, rare earths
Main export partners	Canada 12.4%  Zimbabwe 9.4%  South Africa 6.7%  United States 6.4%  Egypt 6.2%  Zambia 6.1%  Germany 6.1%  Netherlands 4.6% (2013 est.)
Imports	$2.42 billion (2013 est.)
Import goods	foodstuffs, petroleum products, semi-manufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment
Main import partners	South Africa 25.1%  China 12.7%  India 12%  Zambia 11.7%  Tanzania 4.8%  UAE 4.6% (2013 est.)
FDI stock	$129.5 million (2014)
Gross external debt	$1.556 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
Public finances
Public debt	50.8% of GDP (2013 est.)
Revenues	$1.347 billion (2013 est.)
Expenses	$$1.4 billion (2013 est.)
Economic aid	$1.174 million (2012)
Foreign reserves	$364.2 million (31 December 2013 est.)
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Malawi is predominantly agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas. The landlocked country in south central Africa ranks among the world's least developed countries. Agriculture accounts for 29% of GDP and 85% of export revenues. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. The government faces strong challenges: to spur exports, to improve educational and health facilities, to face up to environmental problems of deforestation and erosion, and to deal with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Malawi was ranked the 118th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings.^[2]

Agriculture

Main article: Agriculture in Malawi

Agriculture represents 37% of GDP, accounts for over 80% of the labor force, and represents about 80% of all exports. Its most important export crop is tobacco, which accounts for about 70% of export revenues. In 2000 the country was the tenth largest producer in the world (See table). The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the following production of unprocessed tobacco by country in 2009 (figures are in thousands of tonnes.)

Country	Production in thousands of tonnes
China	3,067.9
Brazil	863
India	620
United States	373.1
Malawi	208.1
Indonesia	181.3
Argentina	135.5
Italy	119.1
Pakistan	105
Zimbabwe	96.3

The country's heavy reliance on tobacco places a heavy burden on the economy as world prices decline and the international community increases pressure to limit tobacco production. Malawi's dependence on tobacco is growing, with the product jumping from 53% to 70% of export revenues between 2007 and 2008.^[3][4]

The country also relies heavily on tea, sugarcane and coffee, with these three plus tobacco making up more than 90% of Malawi's export revenue. Tea was first introduced in 1878. Most of it is grown in Mulanje and Thyolo. Other crops include cotton, corn, potatoes, sorghum, cattle and goats. Tobacco and sugar processing are notable secondary industries.

Traditionally Malawi has been self-sufficient in its staple food, maize (corn), and during the 1980s it exported substantial quantities to its drought-stricken neighbors. Nearly 90% of the population engages in subsistence farming. Smallholder farmers produce a variety of crops, including maize, beans, rice, cassava, tobacco, and groundnuts (peanuts). Financial wealth is generally concentrated in the hands of a small elite. Malawi's manufacturing industries are situated around the city of Blantyre.

Lake Malawi and Lake Chilwa provide most of the fish for the region. For many Malawians, fish is the most important source of proteins. Dried fish is not only consumed locally, but also exported to neighboring countries. Most fishing is done on small scale by hand. However, Maldeco Fisheries owns several commercial fishing boats and operates fish farms in the southern part of Lake Malawi.

Malawi has few exploitable mineral resources. A South-African Australian consortium exploits uranium in a mine near Karonga. Coal is being extracted in Mzimba District. Malawi's economic reliance on the export of agricultural commodities renders it particularly vulnerable to external shocks such as declining terms of trade and drought. High transport costs, which can comprise over 30% of its total import bill, constitute a serious impediment to economic development and trade. Malawi must import all its fuel products. Other challenges include a paucity of skilled labor, difficulty in obtaining expatriate employment permits, bureaucratic red tape, corruption, and inadequate and deteriorating road, electricity, water, and telecommunications infrastructure which hinder economic development in Malawi. However, recent government initiatives targeting improvements in the road infrastructure, together with private sector participation in railroad and telecommunications, have begun to render the investment environment more attractive.

The following are Malawi's top 20 agricultural production values and volumes for 2009. (Unofficial figures derived from FAO statistics)

Commodity	Production in International dollars (1000)	Production in tonnes	FAO source
Maize	462,330	3,582,500
Casava	404,764	3,823,240
Tobacco	331,542	208,155
Groundnuts	116,638	275,176
Bananas (Excluding Plantains)	95,152	400,000	F
Sugar Cane	82,093	2,500,000	F
Indigenous Cattle Meat	80,688	0
Pigeon Peas	80,274	184,156
Beans, Dry	75,706	164,712
Fresh Fruit	74,456	213,321	Im
Plantains	72,634	351,812	Im
Indigenous Pig Meat	68,788	0
Tea	55,895	52,559	P
Indigenous Goat Meat	53,512	0
Mangoes, mangosteens & guavas	49,527	82,659	Im
Cotton Lint	39,017	27,300	F
Paddy Rice	36,896	135,988
Fresh Vegetables	30,530	162,012	Im
Indigenous Chicken Meat	25,713	0
Cow Peas	18,073	72,082

Key: F : FAO estimate, Im: FAO data based on imputation methodology, P : Provisional official data

Industry

Malawi's manufacturing sector contributes 18,9% to the national GDP. Main sectors are food processing, construction, consumer goods, cement, fertilizer, ginning, furniture production and cigarette production.

Food and beverages

Most fruits and vegetables are exported raw, while processed food is imported mainly form South Africa. Carlsberg opened its first brewery outside of Denmark in Blantyre in 1965. The brewery also bottles Coca-Cola products under licence. A mango processing plant for the export of fruit concentrate opened in Salima in 2013. Universal Industries operates several food factories in Blantyre, where it produces sweets, crisps, biscuits, milk powder, soy products and baby food. Coffee and tea are processed by half a dozen of different companies in the regions of Thyolo, Mulanje and around Mzuzu.

Pharmaceutical companies

Malawi has four pharmaceutical companies. They manufacture a limited range of drugs, particularly those that are in great demand on the local market.^[5] These are Pharmanova Ltd.^[5] - which is the biggest Pharmaceutical Manufacturer in Malawi, followed by SADM, Malawi Pharmacies (Pharmaceuticals Limited) and Kentam Products Limited.^[5]

Forestry

Large man-made pine tree forests are located in the Viphya Mountains, around Mulanje and Zomba. Timber production for building materials and furniture is an important industry for these regions. However, most areas in Malawi suffer from deforestation due to illegal logging for charcoal production and the use of firewood.

Electricity

Malawi's sole power supplier is the state owned Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi (ESCOM). Escom generates almost all its power from hydroelectric plants along the Shire River. The installed is approximately 350MW, about 10% of the country's population is connected to the national grid.

Services

The service sector accounts for 51,7% of Malawi's national GDP. Notable industries are tourism, retail, transport, education, health services, telecommunication and the banking sector. The Government of Malawi holds shares in many important companies, such as Malawian Airlines(51%) or Press Corporation Limited. Press Corporation Ltd. is the country's biggest company with subsidiaries in the tobacco, banking, sugar, fishing, ethanol production, steel production, retail, telecommunication and petrol sectors.

International support

Malawi has undertaken economic structural adjustment programs supported by the World Bank (IBRD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other donors since 1981. Broad reform objectives include stimulation of private sector activity and participation through the elimination of price controls and industrial licensing, liberalization of trade and foreign exchange, rationalization of taxes, privatization of state-owned enterprises, and civil service reform. Malawi qualified for Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) debt relief and is in the process of refining its Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Real GDP grew by 3.6% in 1999 and 2.1% in 2000. The government's monetary policy has been expansionary, and the average annual inflation has hovered around 30% in 2000 and 2001, keeping discount and commercial bank rates high (the discount rate was 47% in December 2000). In the second half of 2001, the Kwacha strengthened sharply against the U.S. dollar, moving from 80 to 60.

Malawi has bilateral trade agreements with its two major trading partners, South Africa and Zimbabwe, both of which allow duty-free entry of Malawian products into their countries. The government faces challenges such as the improvement of Malawi's educational and health facilities—particularly important because of the rising rates of HIV/AIDS—and environmental problems including deforestation, erosion, and overworked soils.

Move towards economic independence

In 2006, in response to disastrously low agricultural harvests, Malawi, through an initiative by the late President Bingu Mutharika,an economist by profession, began a program of fertilizer subsidies that were designed to re-energize the land and boost crop production. It has been reported that this program, championed by the country's president, is radically improving Malawi's agriculture, and causing Malawi to become a net exporter of food to nearby countries.^[6]

Economic grievances though took a downward slide during Mutharikas second term. Economic grivences was a catalyst that resulted in the 2011 economic protests in Malawi in July.

Economic indicators

GDP: purchasing power parity - $15.02 billion (2013 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 6.2% (2015 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $900 (2014 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 29.4%
industry: 18.9%
services: 51.7% (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line: 53% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 31,9% (2004)

Distribution of Family Income-Gini Index 39 (2004)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 23% (2014 est.)

Labor force: 5.747 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 90%, industry and services 10% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $1.347 billion (2013 est.)
expenditures: $1.4 billion (2013 est.)

Public Debt 50.8% of GDP (2013 est.)

Industries: tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods, cotton, consumer goods

Industrial production growth rate: 2.8% (2013 est.)

Electricity - production: 1.973 billion kWh (2010 est.)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 2.39%
hydro: 97.61%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 1.835 billion kWh (2010 est.)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2005)

Oil Production 0 bbl/d (0 m³/d) (2003 est.)

Oil Consumption 5,500 bbl/d (870 m³/d) (2004 est.)

Agriculture - products: tobacco, sugar cane, cotton, tea, maize, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats

Exports: $1.427 billion (2013 est.)

Exports - commodities: tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel

Exports - partners: Canada 10.6%, Zimbabwe 9.3%, Germany 7.3%, South Africa 6.6%, Russia 6.5%, US 6.1%, China 4.2% (2012)

Imports: $2.42 billion (2013 est.)

Imports - commodities: food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment

Imports - partners: South Africa 27%, China 16.6%, India 8.7%, Zambia 8.5%, Tanzania 5.1%, US 4.3% (2012)

Current Account Balance -$280.1 million (2013 est.)

Debt - external: $1.556 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

$575.3 million (2005)

Foreign Direct Investment - Inflow $129.5 million (2014)

Currency: 1 Malawian kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala

Exchange rates: Malawian kwachas per US dollar -730.00 (20/June/2016), 460.00 (20/Jan/2015), 360.00 (6/Feb/2013), 165.961 (1/Sep/2011), 145.179 (2009), 135.96 (2006), 108.894 (2005), 108.898 (2004), 97.433 (2003), 76.687 (2002)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

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See also

• Transportation in Malawi
• Economy of Africa
• Economy of Mozambique
• Economy of South Africa
• List of companies based in Malawi

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.

Further reading

• Anthony and Doreen Young, A Geography of Malawi, Second edition. Evans Brothers, Limited, London (1978) ISBN 0-237-50296-8

External links

• Official site - Ministry of Finance of Malawi
• Economy of Malawi at DMOZ
• MBendi Malawi overview
• Malawi latest trade data on ITC Trade Map