Export deal offers hope for cheaper fertiliser, food
A ray of hope for low fertiliser and food prices has emerged after Russia and Ukraine on Friday agreed to resume shipments of grain blockaded when the two nations started fighting in February this year.
Struck in Turkey, the United Nations (UN) has described the deal as a step towards easing a global crisis that has exposed tens of millions of people to hunger.
According to Washington Post, a parallel agreement is supposed to facilitate Russian grain and fertiliser exports.
In an interview Saturday, Mwapata Institute, an independent agricultural policy, backed the deal to help lower the prices of fertiliser and grain in the country.
Mwapata executive director William Chadza said in an interview yesterday that if fertiliser and grain will be allowed to move out then it is a positive development for Malawi because more fertiliser will be put on the global market.
He said: “This will ease price issues because prices have gone up because of lesser fertiliser available on the global market. Although Malawi does not procure its fertiliser directly from Russia but that global effect was the one that was affecting us.
In Malawi, fertiliser, cooking oil and bread prices had more than doubled due to the impact of the war.
According to the Fertiliser Association of Malawi, the 50-kilogramme bag of Urea or CAN is selling at between K55 000 and K65 000.
In an interview Saturday, Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson Gracian Lungu said the Russia-Ukraine deal is a welcome development as it is coming at a stage where it is implementing this year’s Affordable Inputs Programme.
“It is our expectation that that agreement will help the farmers to buy the AIP fertiliser at a reduced price,” he said.
