Late rains drive up maize prices

The price of maize in Malawi has begun to creep up at an alarming rate as "chizimalupsya" or pre-season rains have yet to hit the country. A monthly Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) report said the delay in the onset of the rains had slowed down planting in several regions of Malawi. "The annual inflation rate had continued to increase slightly for the fourth month in a row," said the FEWS NET report. Annualised inflation rose to 9.5 percent in October 2003, up from 9.2 percent the month before. "The inflation rate is heavily influenced by food prices that are now rising as the number of households running out of food from their own production increases," said the report. National coordinator of the Malawi Economic Justice Network, Collins Magalasi, said the delay in the planting rains had caused concern. According to Magalasi, the price of a 50 kg bag of maize had jumped to $10.68 during the last month. In September last year FEWS NET recorded prices of $8.34 in Ntaja market in the Machinga district, which lies in the southern region - the worst affected by the late rains. During its field trip to the region, FEWS NET found that "maize was selling fast at the nearby Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) market, whenever maize was available. At the time of FEWS NET's visit, the market had run out of maize. The high maize price at this local market therefore could be attributed to high demand for maize, due to a significant drop in maize production in the area." Dry spells in the Karonga district in the northern region had also affected crop production and FEWS NET reported that many residents were dependent on maize purchases for food. Meanwhile the sales of government-imported maize had begun to increase as the lean period progressed. "By the end of October, sales of government maize amounted to 156,455 mt, up by 29 percent from 121,364 mt at the end of September 2003," the report observed. FEWS NET noted that all commercial maize stocks would be sold by the end of this season and the government could be forced to release stocks from the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) to meet demand. The Malawian government planned to boost its SGR from 73,706 mt to 100,000 mt.