DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli said on Wednesday his country was ready to sell its food surplus to Malawi when the southern African country was in short supply.

President Magufuli made the remarks shortly after he had received credentials from Malawi's new envoy to Tanzania, Glad Chembe Munthali, at State House in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

Tanzania has a surplus and it is ready to sell it to Malawi, a statement issued by the Directorate of Presidential Communication quoted Magufuli as saying.

The president also assured the new Malawi envoy of Tanzania's continued cordial bilateral relations, said the statement.

Early this month, the Minister for Agriculture, Japhet Hasunga, said the country has about 3 million tonnes in surplus food.

Hasunga said Tanzania has continued to help several neighboring countries with food supplies, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi.

He said Tanzania Revenue Authority data showed that Tanzania exported a total of 64,477.95 tonnes of maize and 99,434.45 tonnes of beans to these countries between June 2017 and June 2018.