Cost of living up, defies seasonal trends—Ecam

Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (Ecam) data show that pressure on the cost of living is increasing even during the post-harvest window, a period that usually brings relief to consumers as prices tend to ease. ABusiness Newsanalysis based on Ecam data show that in the past three years, the season was marked by falling prices and declining of overall living cost by an average of 6.5 percent. For instance, between February 2024 and March 2024, the cost of the basic needs basket, excluding transport expenses decreased by 9.57 percent from K542 197 to K490 324, but when transport is factored in, the total cost of living decreased by 8.73 percent from K594 197 to K542 324, the data show.

Between February 2025 and March 2025, the data further show that the cost of the basic needs, excluding transport expenses decreased by 4.85 percent from K841 645 in February 2025 to K800 833, but when transport is factored in, the total cost of living decreased by 4.51 percent K905 645 to K864 833. However, this year, published Ecam data indicate a reversal of this trend, with the cost of the basic needs, excluding transport expenses, increased during the same period by 9.53 percent from K881 732 to K965 730. This means that when transport is factored in, the cost of living jumped by 8.56 percent from K981 732 to K1 065 730.

In its March 2026 Cost of Living Analysis, Ecam said while food costs have been on the rise, housing costs have been updated from the previous Malawi Housing Corporation rates to reflect current average rental costs in urban areas while transport costs rose due to the increase in the price of fuel. Reads the report in part: “Food prices increased by an average of 2.34 percent from K645 323 in February 2026 to K660 424 in March 2026. “On the other hand, the cost of non-food items increased by an average of 29.14 percent from K236 409 in February 2026 to K305 306 in March 2026.

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The cost of housing increased to K140 000 from K69 000.” During the same period, Malawi’s inflation rate has shown signs of easing, averaging 24.2 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to 29.9 percent a year earlier, with the rate further declining to 23.8 percent in March, according to National Statistical Office figures. The drop in inflation rate has also made March inflation the lowest since 2022, mainly driven by easing food prices due to fresh harvests, especially for maize, a major driver in computing inflation. However, fuel prices have also increased during the review period, with the first in October last year by an average of 33.2 percent, in January this year by 41 percent and the the latest on April 1 by 34 percent.

In an interview on Thursday, Centre for Social Concern economic governance officer Agnes Nyirongo said that rising fuel prices are driving inflation by increasing production and transport costs, prompting businesses to raise prices and pushing up the overall cost of living. She said in such a situation, low-income earners are hit hardest due to their heavy spending on essentials.

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