BLANTYRE (Reuters) -Malawi is enforcing maize export restrictions to protect stocks of the staple grain, the trade ministry said on Thursday, after the government forecast that a fifth of the population faces hunger following a below-average harvest.
The controls are under a 2018 law that restricts the import and export of goods, including maize, the ministry said in a statement.
“This restriction remains in effect as part of the government’s continued efforts to safeguard national food security, maintain price stability and protect the livelihoods of the majority of Malawians who depend on maize as their staple food,” the ministry said.
Malawi harvested 2.9 million metric tons of maize this year, against a national requirement of 3.7 million tons, according to the U.S. Famine Early Warning Systems Network, citing Malawi’s agriculture ministry.
As many as 4 million Malawians face hunger between now and the next harvest in March 2026, according to a government food security report released in October.
Average maize prices in the southern African country have shot up by at least 50% over the past year, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, an initiative involving U.N. agencies and humanitarian organisations.
Aid agencies such as the World Food Programme will this month launch relief efforts in Malawian districts with the biggest food deficits, a WFP spokesperson told Reuters. The programme, however, faces a budget deficit of $69 million to meet its food distribution target.
Malawi has ordered 200,000 tons of maize from Zambia to help plug its grain deficit.
(Reporting by Frank Phiri. Editing by Nelson Banya and Mark Potter)
