Declining local maize prices have put traders and the Malawi Government on a collision course as the entrepreneurs have resorted to defying an export ban in search of better prices.
The private traders have since found new markets in Mozambique, Kenya and Rwanda through Tanzania.
They are also exporting to their traditional market, Zambia, the country where Malawi has just imported 200 000 metric tonnes (MT) of maize to fill what was believed to be a deficit of the staple grain.
But Capital Hill is not relenting in the enforcement of the maize export ban and just yesterday authorities impounded three trucks carrying 90 MT of the grain which was being smuggled to Zambia through uncharted routes in the border district of Mchinji.
In an interview yesterday, Grain Traders Association of Malawi president Grace Mijiga-Mhango decried the lack of local maize purchases by government, saying while it is easy to export that maize, it is not easy to bring it back.
She said: “There is always a blame-game between politicians and farmers or traders! It’s a political crop and very unfortunate. I wouldn’t know how much maize traders have because they don’t like declaring and it’s difficult to know how much maize we have.
“We actually don’t expect any local purchase of maize [by government agencies] because there is no money for that. Maybe after the budget is passed. So, what do traders do? They have to sell elsewhere and we are creating a very big problem.”
Mijiga-Mhango said during harvest time, most Mozambican farmers sell their grain to Malawi during harvest and rebuy it in the lean period while for Tanzania, the maize is heading to Kenya and Rwanda.
“Tanzania has enough maize, so those exports are heading to Rwanda and Kenya because there is food deficit that side. Our only hope is the maize in the fields which look promising, otherwise, we were not supposed to export this maize,” she said.
Her sentiments come in the wake of National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA), which started buying maize on December 31 2025, halting the purchases last week, raising concerns among traders and farmers.
In its December 2025 Maize Market Report, the International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) confirmed the exports of local maize to Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique.
Reads the report in part: “In continuation of a trend that began in November, there was a strong flow of maize exports to Zambia through Mchinji border for much of December.
“Maize was also exported to Zambia through Jenda and Mqocha in Mzimba. The final week of the month also saw local exports from Karonga to Tanzania and from Chikwawa to Mozambique.”
But the report said other border crossings recorded steady imports of maize throughout most of December, adding, stable import prices seem to be the reason retail prices of maize also remained unusually stable in the last quarter of 2025.
In a written response yesterday, Malawi Agricultural Policy Advancement and Transformation Agenda (Mwapata) Institute executive director William Chadza said with NFRA not buying maize, traders, as rational economic agents, should be allowed to sell the maize through other mechanisms.
He said : “The main challenge has been the timing of government maize purchases through NFRA and Admarc who rely on government financing. In most cases, they enter the market late, allowing vendors to purchase the maize when the prices are still low.
“Secondly, the cost of maize production is higher than the current market price, making it less profitable for the majority of the farmers. But this is not the best time to allow exports as we are not yet sure about this year’s production.”
Chadza said in view of the uncertainty and the prevailing maize ban, there should be consideration for opportunities to process the maize into value-added products such as flour and feed which may fetch higher prices.
On her part, Civil Society Agriculture Network (CisaNet) board chairperson Driana Lwanda said traders have three options: hoard maize again, use the current informal cross-border or selling to local private millers like processors and the like.
She said: “The only challenge with cross-border option is that as a country we do not know the current food demand, how much has been bought, how long this will last and if at all we now have enough in storage to cover food needs until the next season.
“Once we know how much we need and the supply we have, allow the rest to contribute towards forex through regulated export window where structured export permits can be issued to traders to export using the quota system.”
In an earlier interview, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Luanar) director of research and outreach Sam Katengeza said while a maize export ban helps to regulate corss-border trading, it is not easy to regulate.
“That’s why informal markets remain vibrant. Who will enforce the ban, how does the government incentivize the local market?” he wondered.
Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development spokesperson Salome Gangire asked for more time before commenting on the issue.
