Malawi Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in malawi, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Labeling and Marking Requirements
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Most goods have no specific labeling requirements. However, medicines and goods meant for human consumption are required to list ingredients and expiration dates in English. Labeling may be in any language; Malawi’s official language is English. Chichewa, Tumbuka, Yao, Ngoni, Tonga, and Lhomwe are national and local languages.  

Medicine labels are monitored by the Pharmacy, Medicines, and Poisons Board (PMPB) and the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) is responsible for ensuring all products are properly labeled and marked. The Malawi Standards require that goods be properly and indelibly marked, as well as labelled with the name of the product, the name and address of the manufacturer, the product best before and production dates, the batch number, ingredients, and net contents. This is stipulated in various product standards and general labelling standards such as MS 19: 2010 (Labelling of Prepacked Foods – General Standard) and MS 722: 2005 (Labelling Presentation of Prepacked Goods for the Ultimate Consumer). The Merchandise Act also requires that goods should indicate the origin, marked conspicuously according to standards, with quantities and nature of goods specified. The Competition and Fair-Trading Commission (CFTC) also works to ensure that consumers are protected from unfair trade practices.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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