Summary
- Largest supplier: China
- 16%
- Concentration (HHI)
- 797
- Products with a supplier above 50%
- 186
- Products with a supplier above 75%
- 60
Concentration index (HHI): 797 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting purchases among 13 suppliers of the same size
Trend
Trend in shares
South Africa went from 32.1% to 14.9% of what Malawi buys
Share (%)
- China 16%
- South Africa 14.9%
- Tanzania 10.2%
- United Arab Emirates 8.5%
- India 8.4%
Source: CEPII BACI
Show the numbers
| Year | Largest supplier | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | South Africa | 32.1% |
| 1996 | South Africa | 55.7% |
| 1997 | South Africa | 53.6% |
| 1998 | South Africa | 50% |
| 1999 | South Africa | 35% |
| 2000 | South Africa | 39.1% |
| 2001 | South Africa | 43.3% |
| 2002 | South Africa | 37.8% |
| 2003 | South Africa | 37.3% |
| 2004 | South Africa | 28.9% |
| 2005 | South Africa | 30.3% |
| 2006 | South Africa | 31.8% |
| 2007 | South Africa | 26.5% |
| 2008 | South Africa | 25.1% |
| 2009 | South Africa | 30.8% |
| 2010 | South Africa | 28% |
| 2011 | South Africa | 22.9% |
| 2012 | South Africa | 21.9% |
| 2013 | South Africa | 19.7% |
| 2014 | South Africa | 18.5% |
| 2015 | South Africa | 18.1% |
| 2016 | South Africa | 17.5% |
| 2017 | South Africa | 18.1% |
| 2018 | South Africa | 18.9% |
| 2019 | China | 18.4% |
| 2020 | South Africa | 19.7% |
| 2021 | China | 17.7% |
| 2022 | China | 16.2% |
| 2023 | China | 16.7% |
| 2024 | China | 16% |
Its suppliers
Some of these goods may have been produced in another country: countries record origin in different ways.
Products with a dominant supplier
Of the 301 products Malawi buys for more than $1 million in 2024, these are the highest-value ones with a dominant supplier.
| Product | Supplier | Share | Second | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicines in measured doses or retail packs | India | 63.3% | Kenya · 9.8% | $122 million |
| Stamps and banknotes | United Kingdom | 56.5% | Malta · 10.1% | $95 million |
| Used clothing | China | 60.9% | Switzerland · 12.6% | $80 million |
| Soap | Indonesia | 58.8% | Tanzania · 10.7% | $67 million |
| Palm oil | Malaysia | 93.4%over 75% | United Arab Emirates · 2.6% | $63 million |
| Coated flat steel | China | 66.9% | Hong Kong · 16.8% | $46 million |
| Raw tobacco | Zambia | 73% | Mozambique · 23.8% | $43 million |
| Furnishing textiles | Netherlands | 93.8%over 75% | Pakistan · 2.5% | $42 million |
| Cement | Zambia | 56% | United Arab Emirates · 34.4% | $38 million |
| Other industrial machines | India | 84.1%over 75% | China · 7.9% | $38 million |
| Vaccines, blood and antisera | Belgium | 50.8% | India · 13.4% | $36 million |
| Polypropylene | South Africa | 65.9% | China · 14.7% | $32 million |
| Detergents and surfactants | Tanzania | 55.4% | Zambia · 26.4% | $32 million |
| New tires | China | 72.2% | South Africa · 10.9% | $25 million |
| Cables and wire | China | 59.9% | India · 9.2% | $24 million |
| Microchips | India | 73.8% | China · 9.9% | $22 million |
| Other cereal flours | South Africa | 50.6% | Tanzania · 48.3% | $22 million |
| Other food preparations | South Africa | 64% | Eswatini · 22.4% | $20 million |
| Toilet paper and tissues | Kenya | 56.6% | South Africa · 32.3% | $20 million |
| Soybean oil | Argentina | 53.6% | Malaysia · 43.4% | $18 million |
| Bulldozers and excavators | China | 50.2% | South Africa · 13% | $16 million |
| Ceramic tiles | Zambia | 54.3% | Zimbabwe · 12.5% | $15 million |
| Steel bars | South Africa | 56.4% | Zambia · 34.8% | $14 million |
| PVC and other vinyl polymers | China | 73.6% | South Korea · 14% | $14 million |
| Books and brochures | United Arab Emirates | 63.1% | South Africa · 11% | $13 million |
and 161 more
A product has a dominant supplier when a single country sells more than 50% of what is bought of it; we flag it separately above 75%.
Some of these goods may have been produced in another country: countries record origin in different ways.
Selling: who it relies on
- Largest customer: India
- 9.6%
- Concentration (HHI)
- 424
Concentration index (HHI): 424 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting sales among 24 customers of the same size
Trend in shares
India went from 0.93% to 9.6% of what Malawi sells
Share (%)
- India 9.6%
- Germany 9.5%
- South Africa 6.6%
- Turkey 5.6%
- Zimbabwe 5.4%
Source: CEPII BACI
Show the numbers
| Year | Largest customer | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Germany | 14.4% |
| 1996 | South Africa | 14.1% |
| 1997 | South Africa | 14% |
| 1998 | South Africa | 14.6% |
| 1999 | United States | 14.1% |
| 2000 | United States | 13.2% |
| 2001 | United States | 17.7% |
| 2002 | United States | 18.9% |
| 2003 | United States | 13.1% |
| 2004 | United States | 12.7% |
| 2005 | United States | 18.5% |
| 2006 | United States | 12.5% |
| 2007 | Zimbabwe | 15.2% |
| 2008 | South Africa | 11.9% |
| 2009 | India | 8.2% |
| 2010 | Canada | 12.5% |
| 2011 | Canada | 15.1% |
| 2012 | Canada | 15.4% |
| 2013 | Canada | 19.7% |
| 2014 | Germany | 7.5% |
| 2015 | Germany | 11.8% |
| 2016 | Germany | 9.5% |
| 2017 | Germany | 11.4% |
| 2018 | Germany | 13.4% |
| 2019 | Egypt | 11.5% |
| 2020 | Germany | 9.6% |
| 2021 | United Arab Emirates | 10.7% |
| 2022 | United Arab Emirates | 23.2% |
| 2023 | Germany | 9.8% |
| 2024 | India | 9.6% |
34 of the 46 products Malawi sells for more than $1 million have a customer buying more than 50% of what Malawi sells of that product; in 21, more than 75%. In those products, sales to each one’s dominant customer add up to 18.9% of what Malawi sells.
| Product | Customer | Share | Second | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dried legumes (beans, lentils, peas) | India | 80.8%over 75% | Zimbabwe · 5.3% | $103 million |
| Cane and beet sugar | United States | 56% | South Africa · 8.3% | $14 million |
| Peanuts | South Africa | 71.8% | Zimbabwe · 12.3% | $14 million |
| Poultry meat | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 72.8% | Republic of the Congo · 25.1% | $13 million |
| Special-purpose vehicles | Rwanda | 96.2%over 75% | Tanzania · 1.1% | $10 million |
| Soybeans | Zimbabwe | 89.5%over 75% | Zambia · 2.5% | $7 million |
| Other oilseeds | Mozambique | 63.4% | Italy · 7.9% | $6 million |
| Bulldozers and excavators | Angola | 51.8% | Mozambique · 18.9% | $6 million |
| Natural rubber | South Africa | 94.8%over 75% | Zambia · 4.9% | $4 million |
| Packing sacks and bags | Zimbabwe | 52.6% | Zambia · 30% | $4 million |
| Oilseed flours | Kenya | 59.1% | Tanzania · 25.1% | $3 million |
| Unwrought lead | China | 99.8%over 75% | Malaysia · 0.24% | $3 million |
| Starch, sugar and brewing residues | Pakistan | 100%over 75% | — | $3 million |
| Plastic sheets and film | Zambia | 91.6%over 75% | Mozambique · 7.1% | $3 million |
| Unwrought aluminum | China | 99.5%over 75% | Malaysia · 0.47% | $2 million |
and 19 more
Concentration compared
The closest countries in the concentration ranking (HHI, highest first).
| Rank | Country | HHI |
|---|---|---|
| 163 | Saudi Arabia | 798 |
| 164 | Azerbaijan | 798 |
| 165 | Malawi | 797 |
| 166 | Denmark | 785 |
| 167 | Ukraine | 785 |
| 168 | Latvia | 784 |
Links
Sources and method
Sources and licenses
- CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
- Natural Earth · Public domain
Methodology
The data come from CEPII BACI (Etalab 2.0 licence), which reconciles what the exporting and the importing country report, in current USD, FOB. Data up to 2024.
Dependence is the share of a country’s imports (or exports) that each partner accounts for. It does not measure whether a product has a substitute or how much it would cost to change supplier.
The concentration index (HHI) adds up the square of each partner’s share, in percent: it runs from 0 to 10,000. Its equivalent is 10,000 ÷ HHI, the number of partners of the same size that would give that value.
Products are HS4 headings of the 1992 nomenclature (some combine different goods), with a floor of $1 million per product and country.
The EU is the 27 current members in every year; the United Kingdom is outside the EU throughout the series.
Re-exports: countries that act as redistribution hubs carry their notice and the figures are not corrected.