WFP Minimum Expenditure Basket Round 43: 29 November-3 December 2021

This is a Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) marking Round 43 of data collection, which covers the period of 29 November to 3 December, 2021.  

Key findings captured in this analysis include:

• Households’ minimum survival expenditure increased in all regions except for the rural Southern Region. Between Rounds 42 and 43 of data collection, the Survival Minimum Expenditure Baskets (SMEBs) rose by 2.1 percent in the urban areas; 1.9 percent in the rural Northern Region; and 1.8 percent in the rural Central Region. The rural Southern Region registered a marginal decrease of 0.6 percent in households’ expenditures. In the current round, key commodities whose prices generally increased across the regions, included beans, cooking oil and soap.
• Maize grain price remained unchanged between the current and previous rounds; trading at an average price of MK 144 per kg as farmers continue offloading their stocks on the market to finance the purchase of farm inputs, in turn suppressing the grain prices.
• The price of beans rose by 4.5 percent to MK 1,147 per kg from MK 1,108 in the last round.  Prices of beans have been rising since April 2021, particularly due to this year’s poor production of the crop.
• Cowpea and pigeon pea prices increased by 2.5 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Between Round 42 and Round 43, the price of cowpeas rose from MK 630 per kg to MK 641 per kg, while pigeon pea prices moved up from MK 544 per kg to MK 577 per kg.