March inflation rate drops to 31.8%, food prices ease
Malawi’s year-on-year headline inflation rate for March 2024 declined by 1.7 percentage points to 31.8 percent from 33.5 percent due to easing food prices, National Statistical Office (NSO) figures show.
However, consumers are yet to start feeling the easing pressure on prices as the cost of non-food items remain elevated.
Inflation rate has been on the decline in recent months largely due to declining maize prices owing to the harvest season.
In its March 2024 Consumer Price Index, NSO said: “Food and non-food inflation rates are at 38.8 percent and 22.2 percent, respectively.”
Business News analysis based on NSO data shows that between January and March this year, year-on-year inflation rate has declined by 3.2 percentage points from 35 percent to 31.8 percent.
During the review period, food inflation has declined by 6.1 percentage points from 44.9 percent to 38.8 percent while non-food inflation rose by 0.2 percentage points from 22 percent to 22.2 percent.
Ironically, during the quarter under review, inflation has averaged 33.4 percent, with food and non-food inflation recorded at 41.9 percent and 22.1 percent, respectively.
During the same period the previous year, inflation averaged 26.5 percent, with food and non-food inflation recorded at 31.5 percent and 20.4 percent, respectively.
Consumers Association of Malawi executive director John Kapito said in an interview yesterday that the continued rise in non-food inflation has made it difficult for consumers to feel the easing pressure on inflation.
He said: “Consumers have not seen significant gains from the falling food inflation.
“For a long time, our inflation has been measured by food prices which has changed over the year and is being dictated by non-food basket.”
Meanwhile, published data by the International Food Policy Research Institute shows that retail maize prices slightly declined by two percent from K771 per kilogramme (kg) in February to K759 per kg at the end of March.
Despite having the largest decline of five percent in monthly average prices compared to the other regions, the Southern Region recorded the highest price of K825 per kg in March from K870 per kg in February.
Maize, as part of the food component, accounts for about 53.7 percent of the consumer price index, an aggregate basket of goods and services used in computing inflation.
