Fertilizer importing companies are worried that this year's growing season could be affected by the persistent forex shortages, a similar challenge that tainted fertilizer importation in 2024-2025 rain season.

Fertilizer Association of Malawi, Executive Officer Hannah Makhambera, has told Zodiak that the companies are failing to purchase fertilizers in bulk, due to forex scarcity.

"Just like last year, it remains difficult to access sufficient foreign exchange to meet import needs. That said, some companies have carry-over stocks from last season, which will help cushion supply gaps to some extent. 

"In addition, there is some quantity of fertilizer trickling in, but this may not be enough to meet national demand," said Makhambera.

However, she says if the forex situation does not improve, fertilizer imports will fall short of the country's total requirements, adding that this could have implications in both food production and security at household and national level.

In concurrence, Farmers Union of Malawi Chief Executive Officer Jacob Nyirongo described the problem as recurrent, but cautions that failure to prioritize the agricultural sector in forex allocations would plunge Malawi into food insecurity.

"We are relying on agriculture to transform our economy, so agriculture is a key sector. It should be prioritized when planning forex allocations because we also depend on rain-fed farming," he says.

However, Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) Spokesperson, Boston Maliketi Banda says fertilizer is already on the priority list, but hints that the central bank is focused on optimizing limited forex resources to strike a balance.

"We working with commercial banks to ensure we are allocating funds to importation of inputs including fertilizer and banks are very supportive realizing that food production has a bearing on the economy," said Banda.

Studies have shown that on average Malawi needs 450,000 metric tons of fertilizer for maximum yields, but in the 24-2025 season there was a shortfall of 110,000 metric tons of the commodity, due to forex scarcity.