LILONGWE, 12 August 2008 (IRIN) - Despite government assurances of a food surplus, Malawi's traders are betting that maize prices will rise later in the year and are holding on to stocks, artificially pushing up the price at the tills for consumers.
Government and the food aid agencies have projected a food surplus, although the USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Network (FEWS-NET) said it would be less than initially estimated.
The main maize harvest in Malawi takes place between March and July. The government issued its estimates in April, based on quantities collected so far, but has yet to release the final figures, which are compiled after the entire harvest has been gathered.
However, some traders have begun hoarding maize, expecting prices to go up even further during the lean season from December 2008 to March 2009, by which time the household stocks of subsistence and small-scale farmers have usually been consumed.
"Heavy speculation of localised food shortages have resulted in heavy competition for maize purchases and an increase in maize prices compared to what is normally expected at this time of the season," said FEWS-NET.
The price of maize across Malawi shot up from K17 (US$0.11) per kg around early January to K45 ($0.31) per kg last month. Some private traders are paying suppliers K3,000 ($21) per 50kg bag and reselling it to the public at K3,500 ($24.55) and even K4,000 ($28).
Artificial shortage
Andrew Daudi, principle secretary in the ministry of agriculture and food security, insisted that Malawi would realise a maize surplus and accused private traders of hoarding grain in their warehouses.
He said the last round of crop estimates showed that Malawi would produce 2.8 million tonnes of maize this year. "Our national requirement is 2.4 metric tonnes (mt), and that gives us a surplus of 400,000 metric tonnes this year," he said. Reports indicate that an additional 300,000mt from irrigation farming is expected.
Frank Mwenifumbo, Malawi's deputy agriculture and food security minister, told parliament that the country would produce a maize surplus of 500,000mt.
Mwenifumbo said government did not have a hand in the price of maize. "We are suffering because of a liberalised economy, but we won't sit back and watch traders dictating prices to us. We are working on drastic measures that will make maize a protected produce and a property of the Malawi government," he said.
Last week alone, Malawi's Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC) and the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) bought 110,000mt of maize from local markets. "If ADMARC and NFRA are able to get the maize locally it means that the grain is available in most households," Daudi said.
ADMARC's market depots are closed at present, and although spokeswoman Agness Chikoko acknowledged that the organisation was buying maize at prevailing market prices, she could not say at what price it would be selling the staple grain once the depots reopened. "It's obvious that we won't be selling at old prices because prices keep changing," she said.
Maize is readily available but few traders are selling in the local markets, according to FEWS-NET. "Traders are focusing on purchasing maize now for sale after the main harvest period, when household stocks of own-produced food deplete."
Grace Mhango, president of the Grain Traders Association, admitted that some traders were hoarding maize with a view to selling it at a higher price when the situation worsened.
"It's true that as traders we have contributed to the rise in maize prices. Some areas in the country do not have maize, yes, but we are not in a crisis yet to justify the high grain prices," she said.
Media reports hinting that the country would not produce enough were prompting a scramble for maize, Mhango commented. She warned that unless the situation was checked, prices would keep rising and the poor who lived below the bread line would suffer.
Government reaction
The government imposed an export ban on maize and maize products in April to protect domestic food supplies and ensure food security, but later clarified this to mean the enforcement of licensing regulations on traders, according to FEWS-NET. During the lean period from December 2007 to March 2008, exports by traders were blamed for maize shortages, despite surplus maize production.
Government has been buying maize on the local market, initially paying K45 per kg ($0.31/kg), but is now spending K65 per kg ($0.45/kg) to fend off the private traders it is accusing of hoarding Malawi's staple grain.
Malawi's minister of trade and industry, Henry Mussa, said the government would clamp down on private traders hoarding maize at a time when people were in need of it, and that his ministry, in collaboration with the ministry of agriculture and food security, would come up with a fixed price for maize to help poor households.
Early this year the parliamentary committee on agriculture and natural resources, chaired by Vitus Dzoole-Mwale, toured all the districts in the north, eight in the centre and five in the south, and established that a number of households in all three regions would face hunger, despite maize surpluses in the last three growing seasons.
The committee also looked at problems facing the subsidised fertiliser and seed programme. Malawi's agriculture has turned a corner since the drought in 2005, which left close to five million people in need of food aid. Successive bumper crops since then have been attributed to the subsidised fertiliser and seed programme.
However, Dzoole-Mwale disclosed that the committee had also found that the programme "is a total mess, was not properly strategised and is highly politicised".
According to FEWS-NET, inputs were delivered late to some areas in Machinga, in the south, and the Agricultural Development Divisions (ADDs) around Blantyre, Malawi's second city, preventing farmers from applying fertiliser on time, or sometimes not at all, and/or forcing them to plant low-yielding local maize variety seeds when the planting rains came earlier than expected and farmers could not wait.
A study between late March and early April this year by the Catholic Development Commission of Malawi (Cadecom) on the food situation in eight districts showed that many households did not harvest enough maize because erratic weather patterns produced heavy rains in parts of the country and dry spells in others.
The study found out that vendors were importing maize from neighbouring Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, and were selling a 50kg bag at K2,000 ($14).
Chris Chisoni, national director for the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) said the situation on the ground was not as rosy as presented by some people. "Household vulnerability to hunger is very high and there is all reason to worry, because by October this year many people will be starving."
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
Malawi to draft law to regulate animal trafficking
Malawi Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Frank Mwenefumbo, on Tuesday said that his government was in the process of formulating a law that would regulate animal trafficking in and across the borders of the country.
He told parliament in Lilongwe that the country was losing its animals to illegal traffickers from neighbouring countries.
"It was difficult for government to follow up such malpractices because the animals were being trafficked mainly during the night," he said.
Mwenefumbo said the law, if put in force, will also regulate the time when animals should be moved from one region to another.
He said the law would also allow animals to be handled humanely in vehicles favourable for them when transferred to other areas.
He told parliament in Lilongwe that the country was losing its animals to illegal traffickers from neighbouring countries.
"It was difficult for government to follow up such malpractices because the animals were being trafficked mainly during the night," he said.
Mwenefumbo said the law, if put in force, will also regulate the time when animals should be moved from one region to another.
He said the law would also allow animals to be handled humanely in vehicles favourable for them when transferred to other areas.
Malawi’s top bank to offer TV loans
Malawi's top bank National Bank of Malawi (NBM) in partnership with GTV Group has agreed to offer loans to customers who would love to acquire the TV firm equipment.
GTV started its operations in Malawi last year and has won the hearts of many Malawians after it was granted 80 percent of beaming rights of the English Premier League games.
The company is now competing with Multichoice Malawi which is only offering 20 percent of the English Premier League games with the season set to kick off on August 16.
People in the southern African country are in love with the English Premier League however many do not have the equipment to watch the games in their homes and can only watch the game in the games in pubs. This is because the equipment is expensive.
At a meeting on Friday in the country's commercial city of Blantyre, the top bank agreed to offer consumer loans to its customers to buy GTV equipment and services.
"We will be giving out consumer loans to our customers and even those on employer guarantee" NBM's Public Relations Manager Annie Magola told the country's local Daily Times newspaper.
GTV Sales and Marketing Manager Alan Grimes said the equipment and installation loan would be repaid in six months.
For one to acquire such services in Malawi you need to cough about 150 US$ however GTV has slowed down its rates ahead of the English Premier League games kickoff.
GTV started its operations in Malawi last year and has won the hearts of many Malawians after it was granted 80 percent of beaming rights of the English Premier League games.
The company is now competing with Multichoice Malawi which is only offering 20 percent of the English Premier League games with the season set to kick off on August 16.
People in the southern African country are in love with the English Premier League however many do not have the equipment to watch the games in their homes and can only watch the game in the games in pubs. This is because the equipment is expensive.
At a meeting on Friday in the country's commercial city of Blantyre, the top bank agreed to offer consumer loans to its customers to buy GTV equipment and services.
"We will be giving out consumer loans to our customers and even those on employer guarantee" NBM's Public Relations Manager Annie Magola told the country's local Daily Times newspaper.
GTV Sales and Marketing Manager Alan Grimes said the equipment and installation loan would be repaid in six months.
For one to acquire such services in Malawi you need to cough about 150 US$ however GTV has slowed down its rates ahead of the English Premier League games kickoff.
Hospital staff heading to Malawi appeal
THREE more clinical staff at Coventry's University Hospital are heading to Africa to help improve medical conditions there after receiving a fundraising boost.
The International Committee of The Rotary Club of Coventry raised £2,000 last year for Health Link Malawi charity which sends clinicians from the hospital to Nkhotakota, Malawi.
It was the committee's chosen charity from July 2007 to June 2008 and during the year it raised money with a cheese and wine evening, theatre trip, an Italian themed evening, a strawberry tea and carol singers.
The Rev Viv Gasteen, of Central Methodist Hall in Coventry, was chairman of the committee. She first heard about the charity's work when Dr Keith Struthers, who is director of microbiology at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and secretary of Health Link Malawi Trustees, gave a talk to the club.
She said: "The previous year we had helped raise money for a charity that supplies clean water to villages in Africa so when Dr Struthers gave his talk I knew it was something we would be keen to help with."
Bryan Stoten, chairman of Health Link Malawi, accepted the cheque on behalf of the charity.
The International Committee of The Rotary Club of Coventry raised £2,000 last year for Health Link Malawi charity which sends clinicians from the hospital to Nkhotakota, Malawi.
It was the committee's chosen charity from July 2007 to June 2008 and during the year it raised money with a cheese and wine evening, theatre trip, an Italian themed evening, a strawberry tea and carol singers.
The Rev Viv Gasteen, of Central Methodist Hall in Coventry, was chairman of the committee. She first heard about the charity's work when Dr Keith Struthers, who is director of microbiology at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and secretary of Health Link Malawi Trustees, gave a talk to the club.
She said: "The previous year we had helped raise money for a charity that supplies clean water to villages in Africa so when Dr Struthers gave his talk I knew it was something we would be keen to help with."
Bryan Stoten, chairman of Health Link Malawi, accepted the cheque on behalf of the charity.
TRADE: Malawi Still Hopeful That Investment Will Come
LILONGWE, Aug 12 (IPS) - Malawi is on the prowl to extend its trade connections to different corners of the world, west and east. The small southern African country is hoping foreign investment will help it to become a producer and exporter rather than a consumer and importer economy, as is presently the case.
The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), which seeks to link budding markets in the developing world with the international private sector, has become Malawi’s latest ally in its quest to find much-vaunted, but ever-elusive, investment by foreign companies.
‘‘The Malawi economy is as good as any economy you would want to invest in. We have achieved a lot. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cannot believe what we have achieved in just four years. We have managed to stabilise the economy,’’ Malawi’s finance minister, Goodall Gondwe, told the CBC.
The CBC and the Malawi government agreed on July 18 that the council will assist in wooing investors for the country’s industries of mining, tourism, information technology, telecommunications, agriculture and agro-processing, transportation, energy and banking.
The CBC was founded by the Commonwealth’s heads of state at a meeting in 1997 in order to use the network connecting Britain and its former colonies to spur investment and trade.
The new deal comes on the heels of another trade venture which the small southern African country has cultivated with the emerging trade giant, China. Just in May this year Malawi signed a memorandum of understanding with the Asian state, aimed at promoting bilateral trade relations between the two countries.
Another three trade missions are expected this year -- from Japan, the United States and India.
A total of 25 major project proposals were presented to the CBC by Malawian business people, with bankable projects worth 10 million dollars and above.
The council will facilitate investment of 20 million dollars by a team of financiers from the developed world for an upmarket international conference facility.
This is aimed at attracting international conferences to the country, head of the CBC team that visited Malawi, Sanmit Ahuja, told government and private sector leaders who met his delegation.
‘‘There is a lack of conference facilities in the country. We believe that if we invest in a conference centre, Malawi will be able to host international conferences and in turn attract more tourists into the country,’’ said Ahuja.
The CBC and the Malawi government, through the ministry of trade, have since agreed on an action plan which will ensure that the country sustains momentum based on its economic fundamentals.
Through a communiqué signed by Malawi and CBC, the country is expected to promote public-private partnerships for the provision of economic infrastructure and to increase productivity in the agricultural sector to ensure food security.
It is also expected to build on existing economic advantages, such as tourism and information communication and technology, as a way of broadening its economic base.
The CBC, on its part, promised to facilitate the availability of geological surveys to develop and exploit Malawi’s mineral resources and attract investors to transportation, energy and health.
The council also pledged to commit itself to creating a follow-up mechanism on the investment pledges that were made during the visit.
Gondwe told the CBC that Malawi is courting investors to help build the country’s private sector which, he said, is the engine of economic growth.
Gondwe also assured the CBC delegation that the country’s markets are up to standard and that government will continue to step up the trade environment and improve security on investments.
He explained to the CBC team that Malawi’s interest rates are down from around 35 percent in 2004 to about 15 percent now and that the inflation rate has dropped from 17.5 percent to 7.9 percent during the same period.
‘‘Government’s target is to cut the inflation rate to about 6.5 percent by the end of the year, to make the economy even more stable,’’ Gondwe promised CBC.
The industry and trade minister, Henry Mussa, has since indicated that Malawi is arranging more trade missions this year. He said the country is now targeting the United States, India and Japan.
‘‘We expect to start seeing the real fruits of improved trade and investment in three or four years to come. In three to four years’ time, real investment will take place in the country,’’ Mussa argued.
CBC works to provide leadership for the improvement of international trade and investment flows, to create new business opportunities and to promote good governance and corporate social responsibility. It seeks to reduce the digital divide and to integrate developing countries into the global market.
The visit by CBC to Malawi followed a Malawi Investment Forum which was held in London in April this year. The forum is reported to have generated a lot of interest in investing in Malawi. (END/2008)
The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), which seeks to link budding markets in the developing world with the international private sector, has become Malawi’s latest ally in its quest to find much-vaunted, but ever-elusive, investment by foreign companies.
‘‘The Malawi economy is as good as any economy you would want to invest in. We have achieved a lot. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cannot believe what we have achieved in just four years. We have managed to stabilise the economy,’’ Malawi’s finance minister, Goodall Gondwe, told the CBC.
The CBC and the Malawi government agreed on July 18 that the council will assist in wooing investors for the country’s industries of mining, tourism, information technology, telecommunications, agriculture and agro-processing, transportation, energy and banking.
The CBC was founded by the Commonwealth’s heads of state at a meeting in 1997 in order to use the network connecting Britain and its former colonies to spur investment and trade.
The new deal comes on the heels of another trade venture which the small southern African country has cultivated with the emerging trade giant, China. Just in May this year Malawi signed a memorandum of understanding with the Asian state, aimed at promoting bilateral trade relations between the two countries.
Another three trade missions are expected this year -- from Japan, the United States and India.
A total of 25 major project proposals were presented to the CBC by Malawian business people, with bankable projects worth 10 million dollars and above.
The council will facilitate investment of 20 million dollars by a team of financiers from the developed world for an upmarket international conference facility.
This is aimed at attracting international conferences to the country, head of the CBC team that visited Malawi, Sanmit Ahuja, told government and private sector leaders who met his delegation.
‘‘There is a lack of conference facilities in the country. We believe that if we invest in a conference centre, Malawi will be able to host international conferences and in turn attract more tourists into the country,’’ said Ahuja.
The CBC and the Malawi government, through the ministry of trade, have since agreed on an action plan which will ensure that the country sustains momentum based on its economic fundamentals.
Through a communiqué signed by Malawi and CBC, the country is expected to promote public-private partnerships for the provision of economic infrastructure and to increase productivity in the agricultural sector to ensure food security.
It is also expected to build on existing economic advantages, such as tourism and information communication and technology, as a way of broadening its economic base.
The CBC, on its part, promised to facilitate the availability of geological surveys to develop and exploit Malawi’s mineral resources and attract investors to transportation, energy and health.
The council also pledged to commit itself to creating a follow-up mechanism on the investment pledges that were made during the visit.
Gondwe told the CBC that Malawi is courting investors to help build the country’s private sector which, he said, is the engine of economic growth.
Gondwe also assured the CBC delegation that the country’s markets are up to standard and that government will continue to step up the trade environment and improve security on investments.
He explained to the CBC team that Malawi’s interest rates are down from around 35 percent in 2004 to about 15 percent now and that the inflation rate has dropped from 17.5 percent to 7.9 percent during the same period.
‘‘Government’s target is to cut the inflation rate to about 6.5 percent by the end of the year, to make the economy even more stable,’’ Gondwe promised CBC.
The industry and trade minister, Henry Mussa, has since indicated that Malawi is arranging more trade missions this year. He said the country is now targeting the United States, India and Japan.
‘‘We expect to start seeing the real fruits of improved trade and investment in three or four years to come. In three to four years’ time, real investment will take place in the country,’’ Mussa argued.
CBC works to provide leadership for the improvement of international trade and investment flows, to create new business opportunities and to promote good governance and corporate social responsibility. It seeks to reduce the digital divide and to integrate developing countries into the global market.
The visit by CBC to Malawi followed a Malawi Investment Forum which was held in London in April this year. The forum is reported to have generated a lot of interest in investing in Malawi. (END/2008)
EPPING FOREST: Can recycling sparks tree growth
EVERYONE who recycles aluminium drinks cans in the district is helping grow fruit trees in Malawi.
Figures show that in the past year residents have contributed to growing 81 grafted orange trees for families in rural Malawi, and the more cans that are recycled, the more fruit trees will be grown.
The tree nurseries are run by local garden clubs and schools, which have been growing guava and pawpaw as well as the local lemon rootstock used for grafting the improved fruit species - a new introduction to the area.
Epping Forest District Council environment portfolio holder Mary Sartin said: “We’re delighted that after just one year, recyclers in Epping Forest have been responsible for giving 81 fruit trees to the project.
“I would urge everyone to make sure they always recycle their drinks cans to help build a sustainable future in Malawi."
Figures show that in the past year residents have contributed to growing 81 grafted orange trees for families in rural Malawi, and the more cans that are recycled, the more fruit trees will be grown.
The tree nurseries are run by local garden clubs and schools, which have been growing guava and pawpaw as well as the local lemon rootstock used for grafting the improved fruit species - a new introduction to the area.
Epping Forest District Council environment portfolio holder Mary Sartin said: “We’re delighted that after just one year, recyclers in Epping Forest have been responsible for giving 81 fruit trees to the project.
“I would urge everyone to make sure they always recycle their drinks cans to help build a sustainable future in Malawi."
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