Due to the shortage of US dollars, Malawi's currency depreciated by 44%, which limits the import of fuels and other commodities of this southern African country with liabilities.
Malawi Reserve Bank stated in a statement that in the currency brand price on Thursday (November 9), the US dollar/Kwako quoted at 1,700, which was 1,180.29.The data compiled by Bloomberg, this adjustment has made the value of Kwacha two -thirds from the beginning of the year.
Malawi is a net importer of food and fuel. In recent years, it has been working hard to recover from a series of shocks, including COVID-19 great popularity, soaring global food prices, and destructive hurricanes that have killed hundreds of people in March.According to the central bank data, as of the end of September, the official foreign exchange reserves of the country have been reduced to
2610
Encyclopedia (223 million US dollars) is equivalent to the import amount of less than a month.
Malawi's scarcity forced people to go to the streets to find foreign currencies. According to the currency trader of the capital Brantel, on Thursday, Malawi's Cacha/US dollar commercial exchange rate was $ 1,950.
The situation of the Malawi dollar shortage is similar to other African countries such as Nigeria. There is a huge gap between the official exchange rate and the parallel exchange rate.
Central Bank of Malawi has been selling regularly to help determine the market exchange rate of Kwacha.At the beginning of the year, the currency exchange rate against the US dollar was 1,025.50.
According to a statement signed by the president Wilson Banda, the latest currency depreciation aims to correct the imbalance between supply and demand and respond to arbitrage opportunities in the market.The report states that "the spot checks on some market participants show that the market can clear the import costs according to the new tax rate."
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will convene a meeting next week to discuss the 48 -month extension credit arrangement to Malawi, which may release $ 174 million in four years.In 2022, the country became the first low -income country to obtain financing from the International Monetary Fund. The new tool aims to help countries meet global food prices.
