IFPRI Malawi Monthly Maize Market Report May 2020 Highlights • Retail maize prices increased by 1 percent during May 2020. • Prices in southern Malawi were higher than in central and northern Malawi. • ADMARC purchases were reported in 13 of the 26 markets monitored, and ADMARC sales in 15 markets. • Retail maize prices in Malawi were lower than in most eastern African markets. Prices increased by 1 percent During the month of May, the average retail maize price rose marginally by 1 percent to MWK168/kg, which is 3 percent higher than in May 2019. This slight change in prices is expected as the main harvest season for maize is coming to an end in most districts. Prices fell in 13 markets, stayed constant in 4 and rose in 9 markets (Table 1). The largest price decline was recorded in Chitipa (19 percent) followed by Jenda market (18 percent). Mangochi market recorded the largest price increase (33 percent) followed by Mwanza (25 percent). A separate crowdsourcing exercise showed that 72 percent of farmers sold their maize below the minimum farm gate price of MWK200/kg announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS) in early April 2020. The average farm gate price recorded during April and the first three weeks of May was MWK147/kg. Prices are higher in the South Regional maize prices have returned to their usual pattern, with retail prices in the South higher than in the central and northern regions throughout the month (Figure 1). While prices in the central and southern region remained relatively stable during the month, prices in the North dipped in mid-May. Afterwards, prices in the North remained stable up to the end of the month. By the end of May, prices in the central region were MWK18/kg higher than in the North and MWK15/kg lower than in the South. The Monthly Maize Market Report was developed by researchers at IFPRI Malawi with the goal of providing clear and accurate information on the variation of daily maize prices in selected markets throughout Malawi. The reports are intended as a resource for those interested in maize markets in Malawi, namely producers, traders, consumers, or other agricultural stakeholders. Table 1. Maize retail prices (MWK/kg) by market Figure 1. Daily average maize retail prices during May Market 2-May-20 9-May-20 16-May-20 23-May-20 30-May-20 Change Chitipa 160 160 130 130 130 -19% Karonga 168 171 171 174 174 4% Rumphi 158 158 142 142 143 -9% Mzuzu 167 167 167 167 160 -4% Mzimba 147 147 147 145 143 -2% Jenda 150 150 130 140 123 -18% Salima 153 153 153 153 157 2% Mchinji 178 178 178 178 178 0% Nsungwi 173 173 173 173 167 -4% Mitundu 160 160 160 160 170 6% Chimbiya 150 150 150 148 149 0% Balaka 183 190 190 180 173 -5% M'baluku 150 150 150 150 160 7% Mangochi 163 147 163 167 160 -2% Liwonde 150 150 150 150 200 33% Chiringa 180 180 180 180 170 -6% Mpondabwino 197 197 191 193 197 0% Lunzu 163 170 170 160 160 -2% Mbayani 183 190 193 183 180 -2% Mwanza 160 160 160 197 200 25% Mulanje 170 170 170 170 170 0% Luchenza 150 150 160 160 160 7% Chikwawa 200 200 200 200 200 0% Ngabu 187 200 187 193 193 4% Bangula 209 209 209 209 209 0% Nsanje 153 160 180 163 170 11% All markets 168 169 167 168 169 1% 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 1 -M ay -2 0 4 -M ay -2 0 6 -M ay -2 0 8 -M ay -2 0 1 1 -M ay -2 0 1 3 -M ay -2 0 1 5 -M ay -2 0 1 8 -M ay -2 0 2 0 -M ay -2 0 2 2 -M ay -2 0 2 5 -M ay -2 0 2 7 -M ay -2 0 2 9 -M ay -2 0 A ve ra ge p ri ce (M W K /k g) Centre North South For further information contact Dennis Ochieng (D.Ochieng@cgiar.org) or Rosemary Botha (R.Botha@cgiar.org) at IFPRI Malawi. To learn more about our work, visit www.massp.ifpri.info or follow us on Twitter (@IFPRIMalawi). ADMARC Activities The Agricultural Development and Marketing Cooperation (ADMARC) announced in March 2020, that it would start purchasing maize during the first week of April. By mid-May, ADMARC announced that it had purchased around 15,000MT of maize across the country. ADMARC also announced that it would purchase maize from large traders to ensure that the planned quantity is purchased in good time to avoid acute food shortage in the lean season. By the end of May, ADMARC purchases were recorded in 13 of the 26 markets monitored by IFPRI (Karonga, Mitundu, Chimbiya, Lunzu, Mbayani, Mpondabwino, Balaka, M’baluku, Mangochi Mulanje, Chikwawa, Ngabu, and Nsanje). Out of the 26 markets monitored, ADMARC sales were reported in 15 markets (Chitipa, Karonga, Mzuzu, Mzimba, Mchinji, Mbayani, Luchenza, Mpondabwino, Mangochi, M’baluku, Mulanje, Chikwawa, Ngabu, Bangula, and Nsanje). Figure 2 shows the locations where ADMARC activities took place in May. Regional prices Figure 3 shows retail maize prices per 50kg bag in selected markets in Malawi and in seven other regional countries at the end of May. The highest price was recorded in Bujumbura (Burundi) followed by Kampala (Uganda) and Kigali (Rwanda). SAFEX, the main grain futures markets in South Africa, recorded the lowest price during the month. By the end of May, prices in Malawi’s Karonga market were higher than prices in Beira (Mozambique). Prices in Malawi’s Mitundu, Mzuzu and Lunzu markets were higher than the average retail prices in Zambia, Tete (Mozambique), and Nairobi (Kenya). The price for Nairobi is as of end of April. How data was collected IFPRI Malawi has been monitoring retail maize prices and ADMARC activities in selected markets since December 2016. Currently, data is collected from 26 markets across the country, with monitoring occurring six days per week, excluding Sundays. At least three monitors report data from each of these markets. Data is collected by means of automated short message service (SMS) with follow-ups made by telephone if necessary. The regional prices reported in Figure 3 are sourced from IFPRI Malawi, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), the Regional Agricultural Trade Intelligence Network (RATIN), Sistema de Informação de Mercados Agrícolas (SIMA) and the Central Statistical Office of Zambia. Figure 2. Location of ADMARC activities in May 2020 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 SAFEX-South Africa Nairobi-Kenya Tete-Mozambique National Average-Zambia Lunzu-Malawi Mzuzu-Malawi Mitundu-Malawi Beira-Mozambique Karonga-Malawi Kigali-Rwanda Kampala-Uganda Bujumbura-Burundi MWK/kg Note: Price for Nairobi as of end of April 2020. Figure 3. Retail maize prices in selected markets in eastern and southern Africa (as of end of May 2020) file:///C:/Users/SFROEBE/Desktop/IFPRI/Monthly%20Maize%20Report/Reports%202020/D.Ochieng@cgiar.org file:///C:/Users/SFROEBE/Desktop/IFPRI/Monthly%20Maize%20Report/Reports%202020/R.Botha@cgiar.org