By Brenda Nkosi

Blantyre, March 11, Mana: To control the sky-rocking prices of goods on the market, government is considering introducing an Essential Commodities Bill that will state how much basic and specific goods should be sold.

Minister of Trade, Vitumbiko Mumba said this on Tuesday when he toured Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (SMEDI) centres in Phalombe and Blantyre Chatha.

The Minister said price capping is difficult because Malawi is a liberal market but said at the moment the economy is divided.

“Without trade or industry there is no economy. The industry at the moment is divided as we have the black market economy and formal market. We need to work on these divisions,” said Mumba.

The Minister alleged that the promotion of the black market is not by Malawians.

“The people behind division of the economy are the ones behind the unfair price adjustments that the country is experiencing,” he said.

The Minister said the Sugar Bill was drafted because of such problems as the producers have no control beyond distributors.

The Minister therefore said we need to grow SMEs and local industries so they own the market and called them to improve on standard, quality and consistency.

“Cooperatives should first market their products in Malawi before we talk of exporting. It is our responsibility as a country to provide a favourable market for them against international products,” he said.

Acting Chief Executive Officer for SMEDI, Chezani Otaniele said they are working on improvement of products.

“We are missing out a lot because of standard, quality and quantity. An example is at our leather factory, we fail to meet the demand of boots for the Malawi Defense Force which is a missed opportunity in business,” he said.