Lilongwe:  The Ministry of Industry and Trade has said land-locked Malawi stands to benefit greatly from the newly launched on-line Non-Tariff Barrier (NTB) reporting which covers the tripartite free trade area (TFTA). TFTA recently launched an on-line NTB reporting mechanism which is aimed at monitoring and eliminating technical and other non-quantitative barriers to trade occurring in the region.

Harare: Trade between Zimbabwe and Malawi has increased in the past two years, though skewed in favour of Malawi, with imports reaching US$176 million compared to exports of US$60 million. According to trade figures released by ZimTrade, between 2008 and 2009 trade was skewed in favour of Zimbabwe with the local economy recording imports of US$31,2 million and exports worth US$118,2 million.

The African Development Bank has called for US$40 billion per year over the coming decades to be provided to African countries to address development issues directly related to climate change. The current study addresses a key component of these issues, the effect of climate change on the road infrastructure of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, all located within the Zambezi River Basin. The study incorporates a stressor-response approach to estimate the effects of projected precipitation, temperature, and flooding changes on the paved and unpaved road infrastructure of these countries.

Until 2010, Malawi experienced solid growth averaging around 7 percent (2006-2010) largely through prudent macroeconomic policies and a supportive donor environment, which allowed Malawi to achieve a historic level of income per capita of $350 since independence. Despite the strong economic performance, poverty remains widespread and concentrated in rural areas. Economic imbalances started to build in late 2008 in the context of the global crisis, and were intensified during the run-up to the 2009 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

Lilongwe:  Malawi and Mozambique are exploring several economic opportunities amid their building up of bilateral relations. Among the projects being considered is the fuel pipeline from Beira to Malawi. This was disclosed by Minister of Foreign Affairs, E phrahim Chiume, after the signing ceremony of four cooperating agreements between the two countries on Tuesday at Kamuzu Palace. The two governments, represented by Heads of State, Ministers and top government officials, held bilateral talks on several areas of opportunities.

Gaborone: Botswana has announced that it is considering a $10 million (P80 million) soft loan to Malawi. A press statement from the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Solomon Sekwakwa says the loan is to be repaid in a period of 10 years with interest.  "The intention is to help a fellow low income African country which is in a similar position as Botswana was at the time of its independence. It is important to note that the proceeds of the loan (sic) will be used to purchase goods from Botswana.  The goods to be purchased cover, among others, livestock vaccines, fuel and cattle," the statement says.

London:  Malawi presents great investment opportunities.  Firstly, as a former British colony, business and government culture is modelled on British tradition. English is the country’s official language. The legal system is based on the English Common Law and Malawi’s educational system mirrors that of the United Kingdom. Malawi is a democratic and peaceful country with a history of political stability since its independence [...]. In tourism, Malawi is referred to as the “Warm Heart of Africaâ€� not only because of its temperate subtropical climate, but also because of the warmth and friendliness of her people, the safety of the country and the many breathtaking tourist attractions. The country is founded on strong tenets of constitutionalism and the rule of law. The smooth transition of power over the years attests to this.

Lilongwe: Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (Mitc) has stressed the need for the country to narrow the trade gap with Zimbabwe by tapping into that country’s demand for Malawi goods. In an interview on Friday, Mitc market development officer, George Midiani observed that there is a potential market in Zimbabwe that traders can tap into. “Zimbabwe has been Malawi’s trading partner for a long time. Zimbabwe has been a source of raw materials for Malawi for a long time. We would like to narrow the trade gap, and one way of doing that is through our participation in the Zimbabwe International Trade Fairs (Zitf),� he said.

Geneva:  The European Union's plans for tough new anti-smoking rules would break international trade rules, Malawi has told the World Trade Organization, signaling a potential legal challenge from the developing world. Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, is concerned that EU plans to make cigarettes less attractive to new smokers will hurt a sector which provides more than 60 percent of its foreign exchange earnings, according to a WTO survey in 2010.

New York: The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization will soon test a new, faster and more precise way of measuring hunger and food insecurity in four pilot countries in Africa.  The new approach relies on gathering information on the extent and severity of hunger from food-insecure people, through a carefully-designed annual survey to be conducted in collaboration with polling specialists Gallup, Inc, the agency said in a news release. Known as the Voices of the Hungry project, the new approach will be tested beginning this month on a pilot basis in Angola, Ethiopia, Malawi and Niger. These countries have agreed to move towards the complete eradication of hunger, in line with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Zero Hunger challenge.