Maize prices up by 40% in Malawi | The Times Group

Maize prices up by 40% in Malawi | The Times Group: rices for Malawi’s stable food, maize, have skyrocketed by 40 percent as traders horde the commodity to create an artificial shortage, a snap survey by Business Times has revealed. Produce markets in selected townships around Blantyre on Tuesday showed that the price of maize has risen from K5 000 per 50 kg bag in April to K7 000. Some traders said the surge in prices has been created by a slow down in the supply of maize in districts such as Mulanje, Dedza, Ntcheu and Salima. Kennedy Chilambe, a vendor at Zingwangwa market, said for the past four weeks the price of maize has been up going up. “Maize is becoming scarce in the district we get it from. This is largely because most of the growers are hording their produce in anticipation for even better prices.