Food security remains favorable as harvest and crop marketing continues
Key Messages
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS) is due to release the 2011 third round crop production estimates before the end of June. However, second round crop estimates had projected a maize production surplus of about 1.2 million metric tons (MT). Large disparities between second round and third round estimate crop production figures have been rare in the past.
• Staple maize prices remain stable in all markets of the country. Private traders are currently busy purchasing maize for immediate resale or stockpiling to sell during the lean season. Prices are expected to remain fairly stable throughout the year as private traders are also expected to continue distributing maize from the surplus producing central region to the deficit-prone southern region.
• Prolonged dry spells that occurred during the production season in January and February have caused reduced production of some food and cash crops in pockets of southern Malawi. This will result in substantial food deficits for poor households in the areas that are affected, likely requiring humanitarian support from December 2011 to March 2012.