Tanzania and Malawi Plan Soy-Led Supply Chains to Expand Bilateral Trade

Governments put processing at the center of trade policy

Tanzania and Malawi are seeking to expand bilateral trade through joint value addition and shared regional supply chains, with soybeans identified as the first potential model. Ministers and investment agencies presented the approach at the third Malawi-Tanzania Investment and Trade Forum, held from 7 to 9 September 2026 at the Tanzania Trade Development Authority, or TanTrade, headquarters in Dar es Salaam.

According to TanzaniaInvest, Tanzanian exports to Malawi stand at $89.46 million, while imports are valued at $15.169 million. Tanzania's trade surplus with Malawi has widened by nearly 79% over five years. TanTrade data presented at the forum also showed that exports to Malawi rose about 40% during that period, while imports from Malawi declined from $22.4 million.

TanTrade Director General Ephraim Mafuru gave a slightly different reference figure, saying Tanzania exported more than $86 million in goods to Malawi last year. He encouraged Tanzanian suppliers to use the forum to meet Malawian buyers directly. The bilateral figures sit within Tanzania's total exports of $17.6 billion in 2025, when the country's exports grew by 10.2%.

Soybeans offer a model for cross-border value addition

Malawi's Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism, Simon Itaye, said Malawi could supply raw materials such as soybeans to Tanzanian processors. Finished products could then be sold in Tanzania, Malawi and other markets. Malawi currently exports mainly unprocessed soya, wood, sugar, tea, coffee and mineral products, while Tanzania supplies manufactured products including washing powder, petroleum products and flat-rolled iron and steel.

Tanzania is specifically seeking Malawian investors for projects that process raw materials produced in Malawi, according to George Mkono, director of investment promotion at the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority. Soybeans are the leading candidate. Mkono said the agency's one-stop facilitation center brings together more than 15 government institutions and can register a company in a single day.

Tanzanian Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade Denis Londo estimated that Tanzania has an immediate opportunity to sell around $6 million of additional goods to Malawi. The identified categories include furniture, cleaning products, tiles, construction materials, vegetable seeds, soap and iron products. Bisa Namarika, acting director general of the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre, placed untapped bilateral export potential at 31%, against Tanzanian GDP of $90 billion and Malawian GDP of $14 billion.

Borders, standards and transport remain decisive

Tanzania proposed five measures to support the next phase of trade: a joint mechanism for resolving non-tariff barriers, faster border procedures, mutual recognition of standards and sanitary requirements, corridor indicators covering cost, time and reliability, and joint investment in shared value chains. Negotiations on a direct air connection between the countries were also described as being at an advanced stage.

Transport efficiency is particularly important for landlocked Malawi, which routes part of its overseas cargo through the Port of Dar es Salaam. Freight crosses at Kasumulu in Tanzania and Songwe in Malawi. Songwe operates as a one-stop border post, allowing the Tanzania Revenue Authority and Malawi Revenue Authority to clear goods at one facility. It was developed under a $91.7 million World Bank program that also covered the Dedza and Mwanza border posts with Mozambique and Malawi's electronic single window. Both Tanzania and Malawi belong to the Southern African Development Community and are signatories to the African Continental Free Trade Area, providing an existing framework for wider regional sales if the processing strategy moves into production.