The Committee on Agriculture and Food Security this morning, 17th August 2021 met with officials from the Fertiliser Association of Malawi to understand why the price of fertilizers has gone up over the past few months.
The Committee asked the Association to explain factors that have contributed to the price increase and how the Committee could assist fertilizer importers to sell the commodity at an affordable price.
The Association was established in 2006 and has a membership of 20 companies representing a retail network of over 1000 shops across the country.
The Association’s Executive Desk Officer, Mbawaka Phiri informed the Committee that factors that affect pricing include international prices of fertilizer which has gone up by an average of 50%; logistic costs, exchange rate, retail investment, and Malawi Bureau of Standards charges.
The Association informed the Committee that depreciation of the Kwacha against the dollar has greatly contributed to the increase in fertilizer prices with the actual depreciation pegged at 12.6% between August 2020 and August 2021.
The Association also appealed to the Committee to help them lobby the government to provide duty waivers on raw materials.
The Committee has committed find ways of ensuring Malawians access affordable fertilizer so that they are not overburdened.
The Committee also bemoaned the lack of regulation of the fertilizer market.
