Describes the country's standards landscape, identifies the national standards and accreditation bodies, and lists the main national testing organization(s) and conformity assessment bodies.
Last Published: 4/11/2019

Overview

The Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS), a member of the International Bureau of Standards, promotes conformity with internationally accepted standards.  MBS prescribes and enforces product standardization in Malawi.  All products manufactured locally for export must obtain certification before export.  Hotel and catering services are also subject to reviews.  Goods imported into Malawi are also checked to ensure that they meet standards set for such products.

Standards

The MBS formulates national standards (Malawi Standards) in all fields of interest.  The standards act as a base or guideline for measuring the quality, performance, or fitness for intended use of a product or service.  The formulation of standards is done through Technical Committees (TCs) which are made up of representatives from the industry, government ministries and departments, professional organizations and bodies, among others.  These standards are grouped in three categories:

  • Chemicals and Textiles: cover soaps, detergents, paints, pesticides, fertilizers, stationery and all products based on chemical formulations.
  • Engineering and Materials:  cover civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, information technology, renewable energy, building materials, etc.
  • Food and Agriculture: cover food technologies, food safety, agricultural produce, livestock and livestock products, poultry and poultry products, etc.

Testing, inspection and certification

The MBS provides testing services through its Testing Services Department which operates several laboratories.  The laboratories provide testing services to most organizations that do not have their own test facilities, to clients requiring an independent analysis or opinion, and to internal programs for verification of compliance to standards.  The laboratory facilities are in the following areas: The MBS also provides Inspection and certification services to ensure that both local and imported goods and/or services comply with quality requirements, with the aim of protecting consumers from unfair trade practices in quality, quantity, presentation and labelling, based on certification practices that are recognized at the international level.  These services are offered through the following schemes:

Publication of technical regulations

Technical regulations are not centralized and are, therefore, managed by relevant government departments.  These are published in the Malawi Government Gazette and form part of relevant Acts. 
Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify to the WTO proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade. Notify U.S. (www.nist.gov/notifyus) is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes available for review and comment key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures.  Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by selected country(ies) and industry sector(s) of interest, and can also request full texts of regulations.  This service and its associated web site are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. 

Contact Information:

The Director General
Malawi Bureau of Standards
Moirs Road
P.O Box 946
Blantyre
Malawi
Tel: (265)1 870 488
Fax: (265) 1 870 756
E-mail: mbs@mbsmw.org

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