On July 10, 2025, the Bakhresa Group — one of East and Southern Africa’s largest food manufacturers — commissioned a $100 million soya processing plant in Limbe, Blantyre. The plant is capable of crushing 500 metric tonnes of soya beans per day, making it one of the largest agro-processing investments in Malawi’s history.
The immediate challenge: not enough soya
The plant’s commissioning revealed a structural imbalance that defines Malawi’s agro-processing opportunity and its constraint simultaneously.
Malawi produces approximately 200,000 tonnes of soya beans annually. The Bakhresa plant alone requires 150,000 tonnes per year to operate at meaningful capacity — and Malawi’s total combined processing capacity, including other facilities, now exceeds 800,000 tonnes annually.
The country’s processing capacity is four times its domestic production. Soya exported from Malawi in 2024 was valued at $278 million — the second-largest export after tobacco. With the Bakhresa plant online, the question is whether Malawi can close the production-capacity gap or must import raw material to run its own processing infrastructure.
Why this matters for agricultural investment
The Bakhresa investment is a concrete illustration of the World Bank’s long-standing argument that Malawi’s path to export growth runs through agro-processing: take raw agricultural products, add value domestically, and export processed goods at higher margin.
The gap between processing capacity and domestic production creates a clear investment case in two areas:
Agricultural productivity and area expansion. Doubling or tripling soya production from the current 200,000 tonnes base would feed the existing and expanding processing capacity. This requires investment in seeds, inputs, extension services, irrigation, and supply chain organisation.
Import logistics. In the near term, Bakhresa and other processors may need to import soya from Zambia, Tanzania, or other regional producers to run at capacity. The logistics infrastructure for bulk agricultural commodity imports into Malawi — through Beira, Nacala, or Dar es Salaam — is an operational requirement.
Macadamia: a success story
Not all diversification has faced the same headwinds. Macadamia nuts exported from Malawi in 2024 were valued at $124 million — a significant figure that reflects years of investment in smallholder production and commercial orchards in the central and northern regions.
Macadamia has worked in Malawi because the conditions are favourable (altitude, soil, temperature), the market is growing globally (premium nut demand), and the value chain has been built with patient investment in both production and quality assurance.
Our read
The Bakhresa plant opening is a significant signal for agricultural investors: there is processing infrastructure looking for raw material. Companies that can help close the production-capacity gap — in soya production, supply chain organisation, or logistics — are entering a market with a clear buyer already in place.
Sources: Kilimo Kwanza, Tobacco Asia, Import Globals, World Bank blog.