Some maize farmers continue to sell their staple grain below the Malawi Government set minimum farm-gate price, subjecting many of them to potential losses.
A latest maize market study by International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) show that the staple grain’s price has dropped from an average of K736 per kg in May and is 21 percent below the corresponding period last year when it was selling at K933 per kg .
At K736 per kg, the maize price is lower than the government-set minimum farm-gate price of K900 per kg and also below the K1 060 per kg that the Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) projected as the break-even price.
The Ifpri study further said that the prices of maize were the lowest in the Northern Region followed by Central and South regions as most of the maize imports are currently being observed within Malawi-Mozambique border, which are mainly in the Southern Region.
Reads the study in part: “The Northern Region recorded the largest decline in maize prices, with the regional average falling by 12 percent during the month driven by decreases in Mzimba District.
“The Central Region’s average maize price declined modestly by two percent.”
The study said the Southern Region was the only region to register an increase in average maize prices, which increased by two percent over the month, thanks to strong price increases in Thyolo and in Mangochi districts.
As a result, Malawi returned to its typical spatial price pattern by the final week of May with the Northern Region recording the lowest average maize price of K707 per kg, Central Region followed at K727 per kg and then Southern Region at K747 per kg, according to the study.
In an interview on Tuesday, Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito said the slight fall in the price of maize is due to increased supply against the demand on the market.
“The consumers are benefitting. You do not see people queuing in markets for maize,” he said.
FUM president Maness Nkhata said in an interview on Tuesday that low prices are worrying for farmers as they are selling the grain at a loss in view of the production of costs.
“Continued low prices could discourage production in future seasons and this is disappointing,” she said.
Nkhata said farmers are closely monitoring the situation as input costs continue to rise on the market.
Grain Traders Association of Malawi president Grace Mijiga Mhango, in an interview, confirmed that maize is trading at K40 000 per 50 kg bag or below in some markets largely due to high moisture content in newly harvested grain.
She said drying maize to acceptable levels pushes costs to between K50 000 and K55 000 per 50 kg bag, making the current prices unfavourable for farmers.
The National Statistical Office recently indicated that Malawi’s annual food inflation eased to 19.1 percent as of April 2026, dropping down from 20 percent in March, marking a continuation of a downward trend since the second half of 2025.
The easing of inflation has been largely driven by fresh agricultural harvests and government supply interventions despite non-food inflation surging to a record 33.2 percentj due to the increase in fuel pmp prices.
