Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Deputy Governor for Economics Macdonald Mafuta Mwale has said the bank is encouraged with the downward turn that inflation took in October.
In an interview on Monday, Mafuta Mwale said the bank expects inflation to continue falling in the coming months.
Figures published by the National Statistical Office on Friday indicated that Malawi’s headline inflation fell back by 1.9 percent points to 32.4 percent in October 2024 from 34.3 percent in September, reflecting softening consumer prices.
Notably, this is the first decline since March 2024.
Food inflation, which accounts for the bulk of the country’s inflation basket, edged down to 40.3 percent from 43.5 percent in September while non-food inflation eased to 21.2 percent from 21.8 percent in September.
At this juncture, we are pretty much on track with where we thought we would be.
“Next month, we will see a strong drop in inflation, due to stabilising food prices and favourable base effects, having completed one year since the major exchange rate realignment which introduced this wave of rising inflation,” Mafuta Mwale said.
He added that, moving forward, the bank expects inflation to decelerate gradually over the course of 2025, supported by prospects of better weather with meteorological experts forecasting a normal to above-normal rainfall season.
“The decline in inflation offers fresh evidence that we are making significant progress in fighting inflation.
“However, the road to single digits will likely be bumpy and lengthy, given lingering price pressures and still-strong consumer demand,” he said.
Traditionally, inflationary pressure starts mounting during the lean period months of November up to February as farmers deplete their food banks.
Consumers Association of Malawi Executive Director John Kapito recently blamed the trend on Malawi’s weak production capabilities.
