Purchasing Power
Prices in Malawi are currently suffering from a high inflation (+25.5% year-on-year as of August 2012) due mainly to the devaluation of the local currency occurred in May this year. The exchange rate jumped overnight from approximately 167 to 247 MWK/USD, and has been escalating further since, reaching 310 MWK/USD in early October. This affected most commodity prices, including food. Maize prices for instance, which should have been recuperating from the peak of Jan-Feb 2012, instead picked up again in June, reaching a Y-o-Y increase of +110% in July and +72% in September. This strongly deteriorated the net-buyer households’ purchasing power. Fuel prices have also increased by 32% since May 2012.
October 2012
Food Security