Forex shortage hits Malawi hard

A good number of public services by different service providers have come to a halt due to shortage of forex in the country.

Nyasa Times understands that Ethiopian Airlines has halted the sell of tickets through its agents in the country because travellers cannot access enough forex in the country.

Cooking oil manufacturers are also finding it hard to manufacture cooking oil because there is shortage of forex with which they can import other materials. A quick check on the local market has revealed scarcity of cooking oil made by Malawian companies. Instead, shops are selling imported cooking oil which is relatively high in cost.

Leader of cooking oil manufacturers in the country, Dr Peter Ngoma, told the local media that shortage of American dollars has affected business in the cooking oil manufacturing industry.

“Shortage of forex especially American dollars is a big problem at the moment as we cannot import other materials that we use in manufacturing cooking oil. There is hope however as people have started harvesting and selling soya beans. We hope that after selling and buying a lot of soya, things will improve,” explained Dr Ngoma.

The Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI) has warned that shortage of forex will hugely affect various businesses in the country.

MCCCI President, Lekeni Kapandula, said government should quickly move in to try to curb the situation.

The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has not yet commented on the matter.

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