Malawi has no coastline - it's landlocked so it has no port from which to import and export goods. Reaching the coast involves going to Nacala in Mozambique along one slow, 800km , single track railway. The line is also narrow gauge, which limits the speed and weight on each train. Nearly all of Malawi's exports (e.g. tobacco, sugar, tea) go this way. The trains return with imports (e.g. fertilizer, fuel, manufactured goods). But it's a slow, expensive process.