Good News: Maize Prices Drop by 19%, Easing Inflation Worries
Consumers can breathe a sigh of relief as maize prices have fallen by 19 percent, bringing much-needed relief to household budgets and easing inflationary pressures. A snap survey reveals that the average price of a 50-kilogramme (kg) bag of maize in Malawi’s cities and major towns now stands at K88,900, down from the record K110,000 recorded in mid-February this year.
Across different regions, Zomba has the highest maize prices at K96,000 per 50kg bag, followed by Lilongwe at K90,000 to K92,000. In Blantyre, Mangochi, and Mzuzu, maize prices peak at K90,000, but more affordable options ranging from K75,000 to K80,000 are available in Mzuzu and Mangochi.
The biggest boost for consumers comes from the influx of freshly harvested maize, which is entering the market at significantly reduced prices of K50,000 to K60,000 per 50kg bag, further driving down costs and improving accessibility.
Economist Marvin Banda predicts that food inflation will continue to decline over the next four months, thanks to increased supply.
“The agricultural production cycle indicates that as the harvest penetrates the market, prices will keep decreasing, not just for maize but for other farm products as well,” Banda explained. “However, restrictions on exports and imports for certain agricultural goods could create supply distortions, affecting availability and prices later in the year.”
Consumers Association of Malawi (Cama) Executive Director John Kapito welcomed the price drop, emphasizing its role in reducing inflation and improving affordability. However, he cautioned farmers against selling all their maize at current prices, warning of potential price hikes in the coming months due to lower harvest volumes.
“Government must ensure that food agencies such as Admarc and the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) have adequate resources to procure maize early and stock up for the lean period,” Kapito advised.
With maize prices stabilizing and inflation showing signs of easing, Malawians can look forward to more affordable staple food prices, bringing much-needed economic relief to households nationwide.
Mmmmmm it’s mk 40 000 in chikwawa, Zomba
Have you said maize prices have gone down…? You must be kidding. Farmers bought fertilisers at a higher price and now you decided to decrease maize price. This is crazy. Where were you to down fertilisers price.
I’M NOT SELLING MY MAIZE
Mchinji 40000
Is this propaganda or what? Maize was 50,000 and has gone up to 90,000 kwacha. That is what Malawians know. The prices have not dropped. Maize prices did not even go to 110,000. They prices were at 50,000 and they went to 90,000
It’s very unfortunate to see politicians smiling while distributing maize to Malawians, coz this shows that people in the country can’t provide for themselves. They cannot make agricultural inputs affordable for everyone. They still want us a to depend on them. Malawi will never develop in the near future
The government should focus on subsidizing farm inputs mainly fertilizer, pestsides and certified maize seeds as they have a big impact in maize production secondly the government should encourage farmers to depend on irrigation farming as climate is changing this can also be done either subsidizing or selling in installments these solar water pump. therefore, in a year as a nation we will be harvesting both in rain season and dry season to have surplus maize in end the price at consumer level will drop