Barely three months to the planting season, Malawi faces a 300 000 metric tonnes (MT) fertiliser deficit with stocks currently held by private suppliers equivalent to about 33 percent of the estimated requirement.
Fertiliser Association of Malawi estimates that its members have 147 508MT against a national requirement estimated at between 450 000MT and 475 000MT. The stocks leave a deficit of between 302 492MT and 327 492MT.
In an interview on Thursday, the association’s executive administration officer Hannah Makhambera said the private sector has the capacity to meet the annual requirement through imports and blending.
However, she warned that procurement timelines, access to foreign exchange and logistics would determine whether supplies reach farmers in time.
“Since fertiliser is largely imported using foreign currency, delays or shortages in accessing forex can affect procurement timelines, disrupt supply planning, and increase financing costs,” said Makhambera.
The requirement extends to the Farm Inputs Subsidy Programme (Fisp) which needs 61 094MT of Urea and NPK while the government is also promoting production of Mbeya fertiliser, a blend of chemical fertilisers and locally-found raw materials, as part of efforts to increase the use of locally available materials.
In the meantime, Malawi is also building local production but at current levels, this is unlikely to close the immediate deficit.
On the other hand, agriculture expert Innocent Pangapanga Phiri said inadequate fertiliser stocks could push up prices, making the commodity less affordable for smallholder farmers and impacting on crop production.
Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources agricultural economist Horace Phiri said increased local production could reduce dependence on imports but it still requires foreign exchange for some raw materials.
In August last year, Malawi faced a 282 208MT shortfall while in the 2024/25 season the fertiliser deficit stood at 110 000MT.
