Minister encourages MBS to enable trade
Minister of Industry and Trade has encouraged Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) to enable and not be a bottle neck to trade to ensure that the country exports more and reduces deficit.
Speaking on Monday during a tour of the bureau to appreciate its operations, Minister of Industry and Trade Joseph Mwanamvekha said globalisation has brought stiff competition among trading partners highlighting that this calls for the importance of standards and quality assurance services.
“Malawi, therefore, must strengthen its capacities in Standardisation, Quality Assurance accreditation and Metrology (Sqam) in order to easily access both local and international markets. Standards create unquestionable benchmarks for trade and this is a fact worldwide,” said Mwanamvekha.
He pointed out that Malawi’s imports dwarf exports leading to negative trade deficit and forex exchange shortage.
According to statistics provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Malawi’s total exports is projected to rise to $1.5 billion this year, while imports are estimated at about $2 billion leading to a trade deficit of $0.5 billion.
But Mwanamvekha pointed out that against this background, the government is supporting MBS in building state of the art infrastructure for Sqam.
According to the minister, the European Union (EU), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Norway have provided resources for procuring laboratory and calibration equipment.
Mwanamvekha noted that the advantage of the improvement in the bureau’s capacity is that international trade will be facilitated by the internationally accredited facilities that will locally be available, therefore, saving on forex.
According to the minister Sqam will create services including national metrology, standardisation, inspection and certification.
Speaking during the tour, MBS director general Davlin Chokazinga said the minister visit was important because the government has appreciated the role that the bureau plays.
“We request the government to finance the construction works of buildings so that the equipment that will be bought by our development partners shall be housed accordingly” said Chokazinga.
He highlighted that the bureau has challenges in carrying out its operations including infrastructure after which MBS processes will be internationally accredited.
Analysts have often pointed out that it is important to improve the quality of the country’s products because inferior and substandard products cannot penetrate export markets.
