The move, aimed at stabilising local supply and curbing price hikes, has received support from economists who say it is necessary to protect food security and livelihoods.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chief Economist at the Don Consultancy Group (DCG), Chifi Mhango, described the export ban as \u201ca timely and necessary measure\u201d to ensure food stability.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ban is quite called for, especially now that there\u2019s a shortage of food in the country,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will help stabilise maize prices and prevent traders from hoarding maize to push up prices.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mhango said maize prices had already dropped significantly since the government began importing grain from Zambia. \u201cJust a month ago, the price of maize was over 100 000 Malawian kwacha per 50 kg bag, but now it has fallen to between 50 000 and 55 000,\u201d he explained. \u201cThis shows the positive impact of government intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He added that the increased supply of maize on the market was reducing demand pressure and contributing to price stability. However, he cautioned that the ban should remain in place only until food supplies improve.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mhango said the government\u2019s next step should be to boost agricultural production through fertiliser imports and improved irrigation systems to mitigate the effects of drought and climate change. \u201cIt\u2019s about how best the government can position itself to increase food production,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
While acknowledging that the ban may affect farmers who depend on exports, he said domestic food needs must come first. \u201cYou can\u2019t export food when it is scarce at home. The local market remains strong for maize traders,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Mhango urged the government to strengthen food reserves to cushion the country against future shortages. \u201cIncreasing the capacity of food reserves will be one of the key long-term solutions,\u201d he said, adding that the export ban would remain until Malawi\u2019s food situation stabilises.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14750,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44,26],"class_list":["post-14749","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"\nMalawi\u2019s government has announced an immediate ban on maize exports in response to a deepening food crisis, with over four million people facing hunger following prolonged dry spells. ","published_date":null,"news_description":" Malawi\u2019s government has announced an immediate ban on maize exports in response to a deepening food crisis, with over four million people facing hunger following prolonged dry spells. ","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19277,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14749\/revisions\/19277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=14749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}