Maize prices up 23%, consumers worried
Consumers have continued to dig deeper into their pockets to afford the country’s staple grain maize as prices have increased by an average of 23 percent between May and June.
Data published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) shows that the weekly average price of maize increased from K612 per kilogramme (kg) during the last week of May to K753 per kg during the last week of June, pushing prices well above the government’s minimum farm-gate price of K650 per kg.
In contrast, last year during the same period, prices of maize increased by six percent.
Reads the market update in part: “Such early sharp increase suggests that Malawi is facing a maize shortage due to inadequate rainfall during the recently concluded main agricultural season, especially in the southern half of the country.
“Some farmers may also be hoarding maize in anticipation of even higher prices later in the year. Such practice would increase prices now, but suppress them later.”
According to the data, the Southern Region had the highest prices, reaching a monthly average of K840 per kg, a 28 percent increase from K654 per kg in May while the Northern Region had the lowest prices, with a monthly average of K615 per kg, a 22 percent increase from K502 per kg in May.
In the Central Region, the monthly average price was recorded at K756 per kg, a 33 percent increase from K568 per kg in May, the largest increase among the three regions.
Across most markets throughout the review period, Karonga District experienced the highest percentage increase at 40 percent, with prices rising from K422 per kg to K760 per kg as traders incurred additional transport costs by sourcing maize from Chitipa District.
Meanwhile, published data from the Family Early Warning Systems Network (FewsNet) shows that national production of maize has decreased by 23 percent to 2.9 million metric tonnes (MT) with the Southern Region registering a 42 percent drop followed by the Central Region at 17 percent and the Northern Region at 10 percent, a situation that is projected to worsen food consumption with many households likely to consume only one meal per day.
In an interview yesterday, Thomas Mlepa, a Blantyre-based consumer said at K42 000 per 50 kg bag or K840 per kg, he is failing to afford the staple grain.
“We eat nsima once a day as we try to manage the situation,” he said.
Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito observed “when prices are high, the most affected people are the vulnerable poor who are in majority in Malawi”.
As part of the food component, maize contributes about 53.7 percent to the consumer price index, which means any movement in the price of maize has a direct bearing on consumers.
In his Statement of the Monetary Policy Committee Third Meeting of 2024, alternate chairperson MacDonald Mwale observed that within the second quarter of 2024, headline inflation accelerated to 33.3 percent in June 2024 from 32.3 percent in April 2024, reflecting rising food inflation.
Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale is on record as having said that all those in need of maize will be supported.
