Maize prices in steady rise, highest in region
Retail maize prices continue to rise, recording a one percent increase in September, as the country’s staple grain is fast becoming the most expensive in the Southern African region, a new report has shown.
The International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) September 2023 Malawi Monthly Maize Market Report shows that maize prices were the highest in the Southern Region while steadily increasing in the Central Region and declining in the Northern Region.
Ifpri data shows that average maize prices rose from K689 per kilogramme (kg) in the last week of August to K695 per kg or K34 570 per 50 kg bag in the last week of September.
This is above the government’s set minimum price of K500 per kg or K25 000 per 50 kg bag.
Reads the market report in part: “As per usual pattern, the Southern Region reported the highest maize retail prices. The markets in Southern and Central Malawi had the highest maize retail prices in the region using the official exchange rate and the second highest after Lusaka [in Zambia] using the market rate.
“In contrast, Mozambique and South Africa had the lowest prices at either exchange rate.”
According to Ifpri data, the monthly average retail price for maize in the Southern Region was the highest at K743 per kg, followed by the Central Region’s K703 per kg and the Northern Region at K577 per kg.
Notably, the highest weekly average price for maize was also recorded in the Southern Region at Chiringa Market in Phalombe and Mpondabwino Market in Zomba where a kilogramme of maize fetched K800 per kg.
Maize is an important crop to the country which as part of food component, contributes about 53.7 percent to the Consumer Price Index, an aggregate basket of goods and services for computing inflation.
Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito said in an interview the lean season has come early this year and it was scary to imagine what the situation will be like between October and February next year.
Ministry of Agriculture Principal Secretary Dixie Kampani recently told the Parliamentary Committee on Government Sector Reforms in Lilongwe that Capital Hill is considering boosting stocks by importing from neighbouring countries.
He told the committee that apart from the maize that National Food Reserve Agency is buying on the open market, Zambia and Mozambique have also offered to sell maize to Malawi.
Kampani said government is considering the offers, but should Capital Hill approve maize imports, the move will exert more pressure on the foreign currency market that is already struggling to finance critical supplies such as fertiliser and fuel amid dwindling reserves.
