Tanzanian High Commissioner to Malawi Humphrey Polepole has described the Malawi International Trade Fair as a platform that is harnessing business linkages in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region.

The High Commissioner made the remarks after touring pavilions at the Chichiri Trade fair grounds which is hosting the trade exhibition underway in Malawi’s commercial city of Blantyre.

He said Malawi and Tanzania are long-standing bilateral partners enjoying fruitful cooperation hence several companies from Tanzania are participating in the Fair.

“Trade is about buying and selling and at some point you need a platform where people can come, see and sample your products and services so this trade fair provides just that,” said Polepole

Speaking after visiting the pavilion for Tanzania Ports Authority TPA, the High Commissioner said ports in Tanzania provide convenience and affordable services and are therefore the best choice for Malawian importers and exporters.

Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) is responsible for running and developing all Ports on the shores of the Indian Ocean and Lake Victoria, Tanganyika, and Nyasa.

The Authority provides port services to Tanzania and neighboring countries. Malawi is one of the transit markets served by TPA through the Port of Dar es Salaam.

Dar es salaam port is connecting Malawi to the world by road directly from Dar es Salaam to Lilongwe and other major towns and cities and TAZARA railway through intermodal transport whereby the cargo is moved by rail to Mbeya and then by road to Malawi major towns and cities.

TPA considers Malawi as the fifth potential transit market segment with 1,120,000 million tons of annual seaborne traffic. Out of which the Dar es Salaam port handled about 461,619 MT, equivalent to 41% in the year 2021/22 dominated by Liquid cargo, tobacco, fertilizer, and motor vehicle traffic in transit to Malawi.

Apart from participating in the trade exhibition, TPA has maintained a good relationship with Malawi Cargo Centre Limited (MCCL) to ensure a seamless flow of cargo to and from Malawi. This is the first time for the Tanzanian Ports Authority to participate in the Malawi International Trade fair.

The 32nd Malawi International Trade Fair has attracted 200 companies, 20 of which are international. The fair runs from the 28th of July to the 07th of August, 2022.

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