The Maravi Post

BLANTYRE--The Malawi Kwacha, now sliding over 300 to a green buck, will not fall and fall.

Heavily devalued three months ago, the kwacha will gain its value from April when tobacco receipts start flowing in, Reserve bank of Malawi Governor Charles Chuka, told journalists in Blantyre.

"I know some people are predicting that the kwacha will be as much as K400 or K500 to the dollar. But look, who can afford to buy US dollars at that price?" Chuwa was quoted by the Business Times.

Tobacco, despite its fall of receipts from $400 million in 2010 to $177 million in 2011, was considered to be the saviour of foreign exchange in Malawi, with Chuka citing increased production which will be motivated by better prices at the auction floors.

Malawi is still searching for a magic crop or minerals that can replace tobacco, commonly called the "green gold" in Malawi because of its economic importance to the agriculture-powered economy.
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(c) The Maravi Post 2012. Reproduction without acknowledgement prohibited

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