MEJN for practical Buy-Malawi measures

Malawi Economic Justice Network-(MEJN) is pushing government to come up with practical measures which can inspire consumers to opt for the locally made products.

The concern comes at a time Government is planning to institute strict measures against importation of goods which can also be produced locally.

According to MEJN Executive Director Bertha Lipipa Phiri, Malawi has been weak in enforcing mindset change mechanism that compel consumers to buy local products than the imported ones.

“The absence of government measures has fuelled consumer appetite for imported goods against the locally produced, in the process the country has lost out when we talk of forex,” Lipipa Phiri says.

She maintains that local SMEs must produce appetizing commodities that can divert demand for exported goods to those locally made; a practice that will earn more forex.

Government’s failure to implement strict measures however is said to be exposing SMEs to opt for imported products.

Currently government is running the Buy Malawi strategy, which seeks to promote locally produced products on the market.

Through this, all certified locally made goods and services are linked to markets, while some SMEs are assisted on how to produce quality goods as well as how they can attain a Malawi Bureau of Standards certification.

Lately, there has been a boom in production of local products, which critics believe have the value to compete on the international market.

However, local consumers have time and again opted for imported goods; a situation which economists say is costing Malawi billion in forex.