The Transporters Association of Malawi (TAM) says about 287 fuel tankers are expected to arrive this week, which could ease the petrol and diesel shortages that have produced long queues across the country.
According to TAM spokesperson Frank Banda, the association appealed directly to President Peter Mutharika last Thursday to break a deadlock at regional ports that had lasted several weeks.
He said loading started the next morning.
“We had sent 100 tankers to Dar es Salaam over two weeks ago and nothing was happening,” he said.
Mr Banda said 100 Malawian tankers and 152 vehicles belonging to the Tanzanian firm Asas Limited have finished loading at Dar es Salaam, and that another 35 tankers are loading at Beira in Mozambique, where loading was due to resume this morning.
Consumer rights advocate Wazamazama Katatu called the development a relief, but said the government must build on the consignment to stabilise supply and not treat it as a one-off.
He said consumers expect the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) and the police to act jointly against black market vending and the withholding of fuel.
Mera spokesperson Fitina Khonje said the stock-outs are directly tied to Malawi’s foreign exchange constraints, even though fuel purchases are a priority.
She said the industry is trying to restock within the foreign currency available, and that the shortages will be resolved.
Immediate gaps, she added, should not obscure the structural problem of earning enough foreign currency to pay for essential imports.
Malawi uses about a million litres each of petrol and diesel a day, a national requirement of 60 million litres a month. Last December the National Oil Company of Malawi announced plans to import about 412,000 metric tonnes of fuel in 2026/27, enough to meet 60 percent of demand, and a consortium of private firms has issued a tender for a further 176,300 tonnes.
The Reserve Bank of Malawi’s July 2026 data show foreign exchange reserves of $600.6 million, equal to 2.4 months of imports and below the recommended three months.
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