By Robert Katuli

Lilongwe, March 6, Mana: Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) says it is expecting more people to operate export warehouses government introduced last year to curb tax evasion and smuggling of farm produce.

MRA Head of Corporate Affairs, Steven Kapoloma, said this Tuesday when the Authority toured some of the customs controlled export warehouses in Lilongwe.

He said more businesses are now coming to MRA to get licenses to own and operate the warehouses.

“We are overwhelmed by the number of people that want to own and operate export warehouses. Because those that were the pioneers of these warehouses have reaped the benefits, more people are coming into their warehouses and using them to export,” said Kapoloma.

He further said the initiative has improved processes of monitoring and following up of farm produce export proceeds, hence ensuring a clear tracking, from buying the commodities from the farms to exporting them through the borders.

“We are able to track the movement of the produce from the farm gate to export warehouses to being exported outside this country.

“So, we are able to track down the quantities as they are getting into and out of the warehouses. This is a very good control measure in as far as export proceeds are concerned,” added Kapoloma.

James Nyasulu, Warehouse Manager for African Commodities Trading, one of the export warehouses MRA inspected, hailed the initiative saying it has raised their business to higher standards.

“Before the warehouses, our standards were a bit diminished because we didn't have time to grade the products.

“However, with the warehouses, we now have time to bring in the commodities, grade them and export,” he said, adding their commodities have never been turned down for quality reasons as it was the case before the warehouses.

Rachel Banda, an accountant for Giant Sprouts Ltd, an Export and Import company that owns a groundnuts export warehouse along the Bypass Road in Lilongwe, concurred with Nyasulu, saying the warehouses are a real deal.

She said: “Before the warehouses, we could not take good care of our products like we do now. There was no good security and there was a lot of damage to the goods, as such we were making losses.

"With the warehouse, there has never been a time when we lost any goods. The quantity that we bring in is the same quantity that we export. We stock huge quantities because of the warehouse.”

Apart from Giant Sprouts Ltd and African Commodities Trading, MRA also inspected Wahida Investments, another export warehouse in Lilongwe.