Maize hits K10,000/bag in Blantyre, tripple the normal price

The country’s staple food, maize, has turned life into a nightmare in Blantyre as consumers are buying it at a whopping K10,000 per bag weighing 50kg.

Visits by the media revealed that at Zingwangwa Township, maize grain is being sold at K160 per kg, K180 a kg at Manase and K200 per kg at Ndirande, implying that consumers are buying the grain at K8,000 and K10,000 a bag.

Analysts and critics argue that the skyrocketing maize prices emanate from President Joyce Banda’s sentiments that there is acute hunger in the country and her nationwide distribution of the maize flour.

However, President Banda on Saturday said at a news conference at Sanjika palace upon her return from Equatorial Guinea that her free maize distribution has nothing to do with maize prices.

She argued huge maize prices are caused by selfish individuals who purchase the staple at Admarc depots and sell it to consumers at higher prices.

“What I know is that the high prices are caused by people who are greedy and selfish; they buy maize at Admarc at K3,000 and sell it at a 120 percent profit, which is not fair. And I am failing to find a connection between my free maize distribution and the rise in prices of maize,” Banda said.

While the president said there is acute hunger in the country, a recent assessment of the country’s strategic grain reserves jointly conducted by donors and government indicated that Malawi has enough maize.