A normally bustling border crossing between Tanzania and
Malawi was noticeably quieter than usual on Thursday as a result of an
escalating regional trade row.
From midnight, Tanzania banned the entry of all agricultural
imports from Malawi and South Africa in response to what it sees as
restrictions on some of its exports.
South Africa has for years prohibited the entry of bananas
from Tanzania. Malawi last month blocked imports of flour, rice, ginger,
bananas and maize from its northern neighbour.
"We are taking this step to protect our business
interests... in business, we must all respect each other," Tanzania's
Agriculture Minister Hussein Bashe said on Wednesday, confirming the ban.
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the trade issues have so far
failed but Bashe said fresh talks were ongoing.
The row comes at a time when Africa is supposed to be moving
towards greater free trade through the establishment of a continent-wide
free-trade area, which began operating four years ago.
South African exports of various fruits, including apples
and grapes, to Tanzania will be hit. Meanwhile, landlocked Malawi, which has
relied on Tanzanian ports to carry its exports such as tobacco, sugar and
soybeans to the rest of the world, will have to reroute its goods.
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Malawi's ban on the import of certain produce, announced in
March, was designed as a temporary measure covering goods from all countries to
protect local producers, according to the authorities in Lilongwe.
"It is a strategic move to create an environment where
local businesses can thrive without the immediate pressure of foreign
competition," Malawi's Trade Minister Vitumbiko Mumba said at the time.
Tanzania's agriculture minister said Malawi's move had
"directly affected" his country's traders and described the
restrictions as "unfair and harmful".
While confirming the import ban, Bashe assured Tanzanians
that it would not threaten their food security.
"No Tanzanian will die from a lack of South African
grapes or apples," he said, adding that, "we are taking these actions
to protect Tanzanian interests".
Neither South Africa nor Malawi have commented on Tanzania's
move.
At the Kasumulu crossing, through which most Tanzania-Malawi
trade passes, only a handful of lorries transporting cargo such as fuel were
spotted on the Tanzanian side.
On a normal day, more than 15 lorries loaded with
agricultural produce would cross the frontier, drivers told BBC.
On the Malawian side, many lorries that should be
transporting bananas and tomatoes through Tanzania were parked and empty.
"[The drivers] are now trying to find alternative
products to transport. It's been very difficult for them because they are used
to carrying agricultural goods, and now they can't carry not just bananas and
tomatoes, but even maize and potatoes," Happy Zulu, a business person,
told BBC.
Trade flows between Tanzania, Malawi and South Africa - all
members of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), a regional
political, security and economic body - were already being affected last week.
On Saturday Bashe posted
a social media video showing a pile of rotten bananas in a truck
stranded at the border with Malawi, saying it was hard for Tanzania to tolerate
the trend.
Tonnes of tomatoes also spoiled at the border recently after
lorries from Tanzania were denied entry into Malawi.
Malawi has become an increasingly important market for
Tanzanian goods in recent years, with exports trebling between 2018 and 2023,
according to official Tanzanian figures.
But while Tanzania can seek alternative markets such as in
Kenya, Namibia and South Sudan, landlocked Malawi may find it harder to get its
goods out of the country.
Much of its exports go through the Tanzanian port of Dar es
Salaam, as well as essential imports such as fuel and machinery.
Losing access to Dar es Salaam would likely force Malawi to
move shipments through the Mozambican ports of Beira and Nacala - options that
may be more expensive.
Bashe argued the ban was not meant to provoke a trade war
but to protect Tanzania's interests.
"Tanzania will not continue to allow unequal market
access to persist at the expense of its people," he said.