Malawians to Dig Deeper as MERA Hikes Fuel Prices
Published on October 1, 2025 at 10:22 AM by Evance Kapito
Malawians will have to dig deeper into their pockets as the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) has announced sharp increases in petrol and diesel prices, effective October 1, 2025.
According to MERA, the pump price for petrol has jumped from MWK2,530.00 to MWK3,499.00 per litre, representing a 38.3 percent increase. Diesel has also gone up from MWK2,734.00 to MWK3,500.00 per litre, a 28 percent hike.
In its statement, MERA explained that while Free-On-Board (FoB) prices for petrol and diesel dropped by 10.64% and 18.14% respectively on the international market, the increase in landed costs was driven by exchange rate pressures. Importers are reportedly being quoted an average rate of MWK2,350.00 per US dollar, far above the official rate of MWK1,751.00/USD.
This exchange rate gap, combined with freight, insurance, and handling charges, has pushed up the In-Bond Landed Costs (IBLC) for petrol and diesel by 52.42% and 49.67%, respectively.
MERA Board Chairperson Charles Kambauwa said the adjustment was necessary under the Automatic Pricing Mechanism, which allows price revisions when landed cost changes exceed the ±5% trigger limit.
He stressed that the revision aims to ensure a sustained supply of fuel and cost-reflective pricing.
By law, fuel operators are required to sell petrol and diesel at prices not exceeding the newly approved pump prices.
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