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The 10 imports Malawi is best placed to replace.

Malawi imported USD 2.3bn of manufactured goods in 2024 and exported USD 68m. These are the 10 that sit closest to what it already makes well, with how concentrated the supply of each is.

USD 317mthe 10, imported in 2024
13products imported at scale, not yet exported well, and close to existing strengths
182products Malawi already exports well
40product lines imported at USD 10m or more
The 10

Demand, capability, exposure. Nothing else is claimed.

Each line shows the import bill, where it comes from, the nearest thing Malawi already exports well, and how many countries make it. It does not say whether a plant in Malawi would pay. That reason is not in any trade record, and it is the maker's question.

This edition is trade and capability only, scored out of 8. The UK edition adds which public bodies buy each product and which region holds the capability; those layers are built only where a country publishes contract awards and regional trade, and Malawi does not publish them in a form this record can read yet.

  1. 1

    Soap: in forms n.e.c. in item no. 3401.11HS 340120

    Comes fromIndonesia 76%, 24 source countries
    Nearest export strengthCarbon dioxide (exports USD 1m)
    Exports of this linenone recorded; 1 more line in the heading, USD 13m
    Countries that export it well41

    Score 7 of 8: import bill USD 40m, top 18 per cent of candidates (2); proximity to Malawi's export strengths in the top 10 per cent (3); Indonesia supplies 76 per cent (2).

    USD 40mup 308% on 2022
  2. 2

    Fertilizers, mineral or chemical: nitrogenous, urea, whether or not in aqueous solutionHS 310210

    Comes fromUnited Arab Emirates 50%, 14 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 254k; 1 more line in the heading, USD 12m
    Countries that export it well27

    Score 6 of 8: import bill USD 104m, top 3 per cent of candidates (3); proximity to Malawi's export strengths in the top 20 per cent (2); United Arab Emirates supplies 50 per cent (1).

    USD 104mfrom USD 254k in 2022
  3. 3

    Furnishing articles: excluding those of heading no. 9404, bed nets, specified in Subheading Note 1 to this ChapterHS 630420

    Comes fromNetherlands 84%, 5 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this linenone recorded
    Countries that export it well12

    Score 6 of 8: import bill USD 47m, top 10 per cent of candidates (3); proximity to Malawi's export strengths in the top 40 per cent (1); Netherlands supplies 84 per cent (2).

    USD 47ma year
  4. 4

    Cement: portland, other than white, whether or not artificially colouredHS 252329

    Comes fromZambia 91%, 5 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 2k; 1 more line in the heading, USD 15m
    Countries that export it well54

    Score 6 of 8: import bill USD 21m, top 40 per cent of candidates (1); proximity to Malawi's export strengths in the top 3 per cent (3); Zambia supplies 91 per cent (2).

    USD 21mup 16% on 2022
  5. 5

    Washing and cleaning preparations: powders, flakes and granules, surface-active, whether or not containing soap...HS 340250

    Comes fromTanzania 60%, 24 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this linenone recorded
    Countries that export it well39

    Score 5 of 8: import bill USD 27m, top 25 per cent of candidates (2); proximity to Malawi's export strengths in the top 28 per cent (1); Tanzania supplies 60 per cent (2).

    USD 27mup 15% on 2022
  6. 6

    Propylene, other olefin polymers: polypropylene in primary formsHS 390210

    Comes fromSouth Africa 67%, 15 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 58k
    Countries that export it well26

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 22m, top 35 per cent of candidates (1); proximity to Malawi's export strengths in the top 45 per cent (1); South Africa supplies 67 per cent (2).

    USD 22mup 30% on 2022
  7. 7

    Paper and paperboard: cartons, boxes and cases, of corrugated paper or paperboardHS 481910

    Comes fromItaly 41%, 19 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 3k
    Countries that export it well46

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 21m, top 38 per cent of candidates (1); proximity to Malawi's export strengths in the top 22 per cent (2); Italy supplies 41 per cent (1).

    USD 21mup 100% on 2022
  8. 8

    Finishing ceramicsHS 690740

    Comes fromZambia 61%, 16 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this linenone recorded
    Countries that export it well24

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 12m, top 78 per cent of candidates (0); proximity to Malawi's export strengths in the top 25 per cent (2); Zambia supplies 61 per cent (2).

    USD 12mup 60% on 2022
  9. 9

    Iron or non-alloy steel: bars and rods, hot-rolled, hot-drawn or hot-extruded, containing indentations, ribs, grooves...HS 721420

    Comes fromSouth Africa 50%, 6 source countries
    Nearest export strengthnone named
    Exports of this lineUSD 1k
    Countries that export it well45

    Score 4 of 8: import bill USD 12m, top 85 per cent of candidates (0); proximity to Malawi's export strengths in the top 5 per cent (3); South Africa supplies 50 per cent (1).

    USD 12mup 34% on 2022
  10. 10

    Fertilizers, mineral or chemical: containing the two fertilizing elements phosphorus and potassiumHS 310560

    Comes fromOman 89%, 6 source countries
    Nearest export strengthFertilizers, mineral or chemical: containing the three fertilizing... (exports USD 2m)
    Exports of this linenone recorded
    Countries that export it well24

    Score 3 of 8: import bill USD 11m, top 98 per cent of candidates (0); proximity to Malawi's export strengths in the top 38 per cent (1); Oman supplies 89 per cent (2).

    USD 11mfrom USD 122k in 2022

The bill and its path, the sources and their unit values, who exports the line well, the nearest strengths, the public buyers where a country publishes them, and the method. We reply by email. Privacy

One line per customs heading. Products Malawi already exports well and still imports are below, because they are a different conversation. No employment figures appear on this page, by decision.

Made here already, still imported

Scale conversations, not capability ones.

  • Fertilizers, mineral or chemical: containing the three fertilizing elements... imports USD 77m, exports USD 2m, top source United Arab Emirates 45%
  • Fertilizers, mineral or chemical: nitrogenous, double salts and mixtures of... imports USD 19m, exports USD 82k, top source United Arab Emirates 52%
How the 10 were chosen

Three scores, each from a field the record carries.

Import bill, 0 to 3, by percentile among the 40 lines imported at USD 10m or more: above the median one point, top quarter two, top tenth three.

Proximity to export strengths, 0 to 3, on the same percentiles: the product-space method (Hidalgo, Klinger, Barabasi and Hausmann, Science 2007) on CEPII's BACI file of every bilateral trade flow for 2024, 157 countries and 5,388 products. Two products are close when the countries that export one well tend to export the other well. Only products in the upper half for proximity can enter the list at all: best placed is a proximity claim.

Supply concentration, 0 to 2: one point when a single country supplies 40 per cent or more, two at 60 per cent.

Scope. Manufactured goods, customs chapters 16 to 96, excluding ores, fuels and precious metals. Primary agriculture is out of scope for a page about manufacture.

What it cannot tell you

A map of where to look.

Trade data says what crossed the border, not why. Cost, scale, patents, tariffs and the plain fact that a supplier is good at it are all invisible here. The world file reconciles what each pair of countries reports, so a national customs file would differ in detail. Nothing on this page is a forecast or a promise.

Source: CEPII BACI, HS22, version 202601, years 2022 to 2024. Edition of 2026-11-03. The UK edition with its procurement and regional layers is at /made-here/.

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