{"id":77106,"date":"2026-03-30T22:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:32:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:32:25","slug":"study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig","title":{"rendered":"Study recommends exchange rate rejig"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>Malawi has been urged to adopt a uni\u00adfied, mar\u00adket determ\u00adined exchange rate to improve access to for\u00adeign cur\u00adrency and restore trans\u00adpar\u00adency in the eco\u00adnomy.<\/p>\n

This is con\u00adtained in a study titled \u201cDoes Malawi\u2019s Exchange Rate Regime Keep Prices Low?\u201d which indic\u00adates that align\u00ading the offi\u00adcial exchange rate with the par\u00adal\u00adlel mar\u00adket would have only a mod\u00adest impact on prices.<\/p>\n

Pro\u00adduced by the Inter\u00adna\u00adtional Food Policy Research Insti\u00adtute (Ifpri) in col\u00adlab\u00ador\u00ada\u00adtion with the National Plan\u00adning Com\u00admis\u00adsion (NPC), the report says fears of run\u00adaway infla\u00adtion may be over\u00adstated, as pro\u00adjec\u00adted con\u00adsumer prices would increase by about 5.3 per\u00adcent, while food prices would rise by only 2.3 per\u00adcent fol\u00adlow\u00ading exchange rate uni\u00adfic\u00ada\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

\u201cMalawi has already endured much of the infla\u00adtion\u00adary adjust\u00adment that would ordin\u00adar\u00adily accom\u00adpany exchange rate reform, as most imports are already priced using the informal exchange rate,\u201d reads the policy note in part. The study argues that the cur\u00adrent dual exchange rate regime, where the offi\u00adcial rate is sig\u00adni\u00adfic\u00adantly lower than the par\u00adal\u00adlel mar\u00adket rate, has lost its rel\u00adev\u00adance, as busi\u00adnesses rely on par\u00adal\u00adlel mar\u00adkets for for\u00adeign cur\u00adrency exchange.<\/p>\n

– Advertisement –<\/p>\n

Accord\u00ading to the ana\u00adlysis, even an adjust\u00adment of the exchange rate from about K1,750 to K4,400 per dol\u00adlar would not trans\u00adlate into pro\u00adpor\u00adtion\u00adate price increases.<\/p>\n

Pro\u00adduced by Fre\u00add\u00ader\u00adick Changaya, Andrew Com\u00adstock, Joachim De Weerdt, Jan Duch\u00adoslav, Andrew Jamali, Frank Kamanga, Grace Kumchulesi and Karl Pauw, the study, however, recom\u00admends effect\u00adive exe\u00adcu\u00adtion of a coher\u00adent set of com\u00adple\u00adment\u00adary reforms includ\u00ading strength\u00aden\u00ading fiscal dis\u00adcip\u00adline, main\u00adtain\u00ading a tight and cred\u00adible mon\u00adet\u00adary policy stance, boost\u00ading export diver\u00adsi\u00adfic\u00ada\u00adtion and pro\u00adductiv\u00adity among oth\u00aders.<\/p>\n

The World Bank has con\u00adsist\u00adently advised the Malawian gov\u00adern\u00adment to adopt a flex\u00adible exchange rate mech\u00adan\u00adism to min\u00adim\u00adise the spread between the offi\u00adcial exchange rate and the par\u00adal\u00adlel mar\u00adket rate. In its 2024 to 2026 Malawi Eco\u00adnomic Mon\u00aditor, the Bank warns that an over\u00adval\u00adued offi\u00adcial rate, coupled with for\u00adeign exchange scarcity, hinders eco\u00adnomic recov\u00adery, encour\u00adages par\u00adal\u00adlel mar\u00adket activ\u00adit\u00adies and acts as a tax on exports. However, eco\u00adnom\u00adists have expressed mixed views.<\/p>\n

Eco\u00adnom\u00adics Asso\u00adci\u00adation of Malawi Pres\u00adid\u00adent Ber\u00adtha Chi\u00adkadza said while the study shows Malawi is already oper\u00adat\u00ading under informal mar\u00adket con\u00addi\u00adtions, uni\u00adfic\u00ada\u00adtion may not imme\u00addi\u00adately resolve for\u00adeign exchange short\u00adages. \u201cIt is import\u00adant to note that Malawi con\u00adtin\u00adues to face sig\u00adni\u00adfic\u00adant sup\u00adply side chal\u00adlenges, and the sug\u00adges\u00adted uni\u00adfic\u00ada\u00adtion may not be the best way of address\u00ading the chal\u00adlenge.<\/p>\n

– Advertisement –<\/p>\n

– Advertisement –<\/p>\n

\u201cFur\u00adther, we learn that the recent exchange rate realign\u00adments of 25 per\u00adcent and 44 per\u00adcent did not do much in nar\u00adrow\u00ading the gap between the offi\u00adcial and the par\u00adal\u00adlel rate but intens\u00adi\u00adfied infla\u00adtion\u00adary pres\u00adsures,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Chi\u00adkadza observed that while the policy note is inform\u00adat\u00adive, the sug\u00adges\u00adted realign\u00adment may not neces\u00adsar\u00adily trans\u00adlate into increased for\u00adeign exchange avail\u00adab\u00adil\u00adity and removal of price dis\u00adtor\u00adtions in imports. Mean\u00adwhile, eco\u00adnom\u00adist Mil\u00adward Tobias cri\u00adti\u00adcised the push for exchange rate align\u00adment, arguing that it does not address the root cause of the prob\u00adlem.<\/p>\n

RBM data show that total reserves stood at $526.8 mil\u00adlion in recent months, equi\u00adval\u00adent to about 2.1 months of import cover, below the required 3.9 months recom\u00admen\u00added by inter\u00adna\u00adtional fin\u00adan\u00adcial insti\u00adtu\u00adtions.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. Malawi has been urged to adopt a uni\u00adfied, mar\u00adket determ\u00adined exchange rate to improve access to for\u00adeign cur\u00adrency and restore trans\u00adpar\u00adency in the eco\u00adnomy. This is con\u00adtained in a study titled \u201cDoes Malawi\u2019s Exchange Rate Regime Keep Prices Low?\u201d which indic\u00adates that align\u00ading the offi\u00adcial exchange rate with the par\u00adal\u00adlel mar\u00adket would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":77105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-77106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"\nStudy recommends exchange rate rejig - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Malawi has been urged to adopt a uni\u00adfied, mar\u00adket determ\u00adined exchange rate to improve access to for\u00adeign cur\u00adrency and ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Study recommends exchange rate rejig\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Malawi has been urged to adopt a uni\u00adfied, mar\u00adket determ\u00adined exchange rate to improve access to for\u00adeign cur\u00adrency and ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-30T22:27:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-30T22:32:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2026\/03\/sm_1774909878.09797.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1238\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"862\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Study recommends exchange rate rejig\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-30T22:27:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-30T22:32:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig\"},\"wordCount\":732,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2026\/03\/sm_1774909878.09797.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/study-recommends-exchange-rate-rejig\",\"name\":\"Study recommends exchange rate rejig - 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