Malawi
As a least-developed country (LDC), Malawi is a beneficiary of the EU's "Everything but Arms" (EBA) arrangement. The World Bank classifies Malawi as a low-income economy with a per-capita income of $602 in 2023. Total EU imports from Malawi amounted to about €248 million in 2023, and preferential imports to €217 million.
What is the EBA?
The EBA arrangement covers all LDCs as classified by the United Nations. This arrangement enables duty-free and quota-free access for all products originating in LDCs except for arms and ammunition. Unlike beneficiaries of the Standard GSP and GSP+, LDCs are not excluded from the scheme if they benefit from other preferential arrangements or agreements with the EU.
At a glance: EU preferential imports from EBA beneficiary countries (2023, € million)
21.1M (2023)
Population
Presidential Republic
Government
1.9% (2023)
GDP Growth
28.8% (2023)
Inflation
$ 12.7B (2023)
GDP
Facts about Malawi's economy
Landlocked Economy
Malawi is a landlocked country located in south-eastern Africa. Most of the country is covered with highlands. About one fourth of the country is covered by Lake Malawi.
Export Products
Malawi's top export product by far is unmanufactured tobacco. Other relevant export products are dried peas and beans, groundnuts, soybeans, tea, and raw cane sugar.
Trade Partners
The three most important trading partners are the EU, South Africa, and China, which together accounted for a share of about 36% of total trade in 2023. Regional markets such as Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa are among the biggest export markets for Malawian products, though the EU ranks first.
Economic Structure
Agriculture remains the mainstay of Malawi’s economy with tobacco being the most important crop, together with tea, sugar, and cotton. The industrial sector is mainly focussed on processing agricultural commodities.
Tobacco Production
Tobacco is one of the most important sources of income and accounts for more than half of the country’s total exports. The production concentrates on burley leaf tobacco and amounts to an average of 167 million kilograms of tobacco annually.
Trade with the EU
Total trade with the EU amounted to €329 million in 2023, making it the most important trading partner for Malawi. It ranks first as an export market for Malawian products, accounting for 27% of total exports.
Malawi and the EU
Imports from Malawi by product section (2023, € million)
Imports from Malawi over time (€ million)
MALAWI AND THE EU GSP
Economic Impact
95%
The large majority of Malawi's exports to the EU were eligible for EBA preferences in 2023.
96%
Malawi's preference utilisation rate in 2023.
96%
Share of zero-duty imports from Malawi.
Preference utilisation and export diversification
EU imports from Malawi (€ million)
Preference utilisation (%) vs. total eligible imports (in € million)
Almost all EU imports from Malawi are eligible for EBA preferences. The value of eligible imports has fluctuated strongly over the years with an overall decreasing trend - but since 2020 imports have increased again, reaching €227 million in 2023. With a preference utilisation rate consistently above 95%, Malawi belongs to the countries which take the biggest advantage from the GSP across all three arrangements.
The largest product sections under EBA (€ million, 2023)
The three largest product sections imported under the EBA are tobacco, processed foods and beverages and agricultural products. However, tobacco alone accounts for 91% of imports under the EBA. While the graph already indicated the high concentration of the export sector on a limited number of products, the number of product sections that take advantage of the free access to the EU market have increased. While EBA preferences were used for 9 product sections in 2016, this has increased to 11 product sections in 2018. This increase coincides with an overall increase in exports by 11%.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Malawi, as a beneficiary of the EBA scheme, is not obligated to ratify any conventions to be able to benefit from preferential access to the EU market. Nonetheless, Malawi has ratified all 15 core international conventions on human and labour rights, which includes 7 UN human rights conventions and 8 ILO conventions on labour standards. Additionally, Malawi has ratified 8 conventions on environmental protection and 4 conventions on good governance aspects.
Core international conventions on human rights and labour standards
Ratified
- Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1969)
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976)
- International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (1976)
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (1981)
- Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1987)
- Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990)
- Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour, No 29 (1930)
- Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise, No 87 (1948)
- Convention concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively, No 98 (1949)
- Convention concerning Equal Remuneration of Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value, No 100 (1951)
- Convention concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour, No 105 (1957)
- Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, No 111 (1958)
- Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, No 138 (1973)
- Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, No 182 (1999)
Additional Conventions
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973)
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987)
- Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989)
- Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
- The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)
- Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000)
- Stockholm Convention on persistent Organic Pollutants (2001)
- Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998)
- United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961)
- United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971)
- United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988)
- United Nations Convention against Corruption (2004)
EU-Malawi Bilateral Development Cooperation
DG INTPA
Access all info about EU-Malawi relations on the International Partnerships website.