Headline inflation in Malawi slowed at the start of 2026 to 24.9 percent in January, down from 26 percent in December 2025, following a deceleration in food prices.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) January 2026 Consumer Price Index shows that food inflation fell to 22.1 percent from 26.5 percent in December 2025.
NSO statistics indicate that food inflation has declined sharply over the past 12 months, from 36 percent recorded in January 2025 to 22.1 percent in January 2026, representing a 13.9 percentage points drop. This contributed to a 3.6 percentage points easing in headline inflation year-on-year, from 28.5 percent in January 2025.
Despite the slowdown, month-on-month food prices increased by 2.4 percent in January, indicating that consumers continue to pay more, though at a slower rate. “The national month-to-month inflation rate for January 2026 stood at 3.7 percent. During the month, food prices rose by 2.4 percent while non-food inflation stood at 6.2 percent,” the report reads.
However, non-food inflation increased by 4.6 percentage points to 29.8 percent from 25.2 percent, marking a shift in the country’s inflation pattern. For much of 2024 and 2025, inflationary pressure was largely driven by rising food prices.
Recent data show increasing pressure from transport costs, import prices, utilities and exchange-rate challenges. Year-on-year non-food inflation rose by 12.9 percentage points, from 16.9 percent in January 2025 to 29.8 percent in January 2026.
During the Mid-Year Budget Review in November 2025, Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha said the government would introduce measures aimed at further reducing inflation and ensuring stability in basic commodity prices.
In an interview, Bertha Chikadza, President of the Economics Association of Malawi, attributed the decline to tight monetary policy and supply-side interventions implemented by the government.
“With food prices, especially maize prices, going down due to interventions being implemented so far, inflation is supposed to go down,” Chikadza said. She, however, cautioned that rising non-food inflation remains a concern and called for further foreign-exchange interventions to improve forex availability.
“Nevertheless, this is a good development even though 24.9 percent inflation is still on the higher side,” she said. In his State of the Nation Address, President Peter Mutharika said the government projects inflation to fall below 21 percent in 2026.
