Persistent foreign exchange shortage has delayed the operationalisation of a $10 million medicinal cannabis processing factory by nearly two years, costing Malawi potential export earnings.
MMC Laboratories Office Manager Eve Mwase said in an interview on Monday that the company has struggled to import machinery components needed to complete the plant installation due to difficulties in accessing foreign currency.
“We are still lagging behind with the deadlines because our main issue remains the same; the lack of forex. We are almost two years behind,” she said.
Mwase said most of the machinery has already been brought into the country, including the drying machine, but some key components are yet to be imported.
The factory is expected to process medicinal cannabis into active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and other cannabis-related products targeting export markets.
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Once operational, the plant is projected to generate at least $100 million annually in export revenue.
It is expected to produce and export about 700 tonnes of cannabis products annually, once fully operational, mainly targeting the European market.
Despite the setbacks, Mwase expressed optimism that the company could commence processing within the next eight months.
“We have been making strides, much as it has been slow. As we speak, we have most of the machinery on the ground, but we’re still importing some more,” she said.
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Economist Velli Nyirongo called for stronger policies and institutional support for export-oriented to strengthen Malawi’s foreign exchange revenue base.
He called on government and financial authorities to prioritise forex allocation to strategic productive sectors that have the potential to generate future export earnings.
“Authorities also need to improve the investment environment by speeding up regulatory processes, strengthening access to trade finance and supporting infrastructure development,” he added
In an earlier interview, Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) spokesperson Boston Maliketi said the central bank is exploring ways of supporting the realisation of export-potential ventures like the MMC cannabis project to boost Malawi’s forex generation capacity.
MMC Laboratories is a Malawian-owned medical cannabis company.