Southern Africa
Cargo to and from Malawi
Served up from the Mozambican coast, on two corridors with different strengths.
Malawi's cargo comes up from the Mozambican coast far more than it comes down from the north. Beira reaches Blantyre in roughly 800 km, and the Nacala Corridor runs a rail link inland toward Lilongwe that handles bulk well. Dar es Salaam is the third option, in through Songwe, and it tends to make sense for cargo already routed onto the Central Corridor.
The country's imports are seasonal in a way that catches people out. Fertiliser has to land before planting, not during it, and the corridor gets crowded at exactly the moment everyone needs it. Planning a Malawi shipment backwards from the season rather than forwards from the sailing is usually the difference between a routine job and an expensive one.
At a glance
- 800 km
- Beira to Blantyre, approx.
- Nacala
- rail corridor to Lilongwe
- Beira
- principal gateway port
- Seasonal
- fertiliser and input peaks
How cargo reaches Malawi
Principal routing
- Beira
- Mwanza and Zobue border
- Blantyre
- Lilongwe
Via the Nacala Corridor
- Nacala
- Nacala Corridor rail
- Lilongwe
We don’t publish transit times against a route. Distance and corridor are geography; what a specific container takes depends on the border, the season and the vessel. Ask us and we’ll commit to a timing against your actual shipment.
Destinations we deliver to
Border posts on these routes
What moves on this lane
The commodities that dominate Malawi’s containerised trade, and what we are most often asked to handle.
Inbound to Malawi
- Fertiliser and agricultural inputs
- Fuel and petroleum products
- Wheat and food commodities
- Machinery and vehicles
Outbound from Malawi
- Tobacco
- Sugar
- Tea
- Pulses and legumes
What we handle for Malawi
Britex has presence and yards across the thirteen countries we cover. The same six services apply on this lane as on every other.
Also in Southern Africa
Moving cargo to Malawi?
Tell us the destination and what’s in the box, and we’ll come back with the routing and what it takes to get there.