Tanzania has issued a warning that it will impose significant trade restrictions on agricultural imports from both South Africa and Malawi if these countries fail to remove their existing import limitations.
Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe has set a deadline for Pretoria (South Africa’s capital) and Lilongwe (Malawi’s capital) to lift non-tariff barriers affecting the importation of Tanzanian agricultural products. This deadline is set for Wednesday of next week. If the restrictions are not lifted by this date, Tanzania will retaliate by restricting all agricultural imports from the two nations.
Currently, South Africa has imposed constraints specifically on banana imports from Tanzania, citing quality control issues, while Malawi has placed bans on a range of agricultural goods, including flour, rice, ginger, bananas, and corn, arguing concerns over pest risks and product standards. As a result of these ongoing restrictions, Minister Bashe emphasised that not only will Tanzanian goods be affected, but agricultural products from South Africa and Malawi will also be prohibited from transiting through Tanzanian territory or its ports.
Further compounding the situation, Bashe announced that Tanzania plans to cease shipments of critical agricultural inputs, such as fertiliser, to Malawi if the import restrictions are not addressed quickly. This escalating trade dispute highlights the growing tensions within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) over agricultural trade policies and could have significant repercussions for food security and regional trade relations.
