Malawi experienced a decline in gross official foreign exchange reserves in the first quarter of 2022 to $374.48 million dollars (K307.5 billion) from $610.3 million dollars (K501.1 billion) registered in quarter 4 of 2021, Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has disclosed.

According to RBM’s Second 2022 Monetary Policy Report published in May, the drop was mainly due to uncertainties such as spill-over effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, intermittent power supply and Cyclone Ana among other reasons.

In the same vein, there was also a deficit in merchandise trade in the same period which has been recorded to be $456.6 million dollars as compared to $610.3 million dollars registered in the last quarter of 2021.

“This is mainly due to a decrease in imports and also a shrink in exports, with imports in fertilizer, vehicles and petroleum products standing out,” the report says.