By Isaac Salima:

There are mixed views on the government’s decision to ban some imports, coming days after the government of Tanzania asked Malawi to reverse it.

Last month, the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced an import ban on products such as fresh milk, maize flour, rice, fruits except products that are not cultivated or produced in the country.

But last week, the Tanzanian government hit back when, through X, the country’s Minister of Agriculture Hussein Bashe said the move by Malawi would affect traders who export such products to Malawi.

Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises Executive Secretary James Chiutsi said there was a need to follow protocols first.

“The government should not reverse [the imports ban] but proper bilateral trade agreements need to be made. We must ask the government, on the other hand, to ensure that a very conducive business environment exists in Malawi so that our products should be competitive and drive foreign products out,” Chiutsi said.

Governance and international relations expert Chimwemwe Tsitsi said what mattered was following necessary modalities when coming up with such decisions.

“You recall that we have been talking about Comesa [Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa] and Sadc [Southern African Development Community] free trade area and I think there is some progress made to that effect.

“So, if a member country imposes a ban on importation of some products, there are some procedures that are supposed to be followed,” he said.

He added that Malawi, being a signatory of some trade agreements, needed to follow right procedures before imposing the ban.

“The treaties that Malawi is signatory to, as far as free trade is concerned, also stipulate that when a country feels that it has an industry that is under threat and has to be protected, it is at liberty to do so.

“However, it has to follow proper procedures, one of which is that players in that industry should petition the government for protection,” Tsitsi said.

Cross-border Traders Association of Malawi President Steven Yohane echoed Tsitsi’s sentiments.

“What was needed was not necessarily a ban on the imports but, rather, encouraging farmers or cooperatives to produce more so that we can suffocate the importation. What the government needs to do is to discuss with countries such as Tanzania on how to go about this issue,” Yohane said.

Small scale Business Operators Association of Malawi President Tennyson Mulimbula said they maintain their earlier stand against the importation ban.

“We argued that