Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways have suspended ticketing at travel agencies in Malawi due to foreign currency shortages.
In a press release, Ethiopian Airlines says that the suspension of ticketing is due to the fact that the Reserve Bank of Malawi has not been able to channel funds into its accounts because of reduced foreign exchange reserves.
In light of the situation, passengers traveling from Malawi on these two airlines are forced to purchase their tickets from travel agencies located abroad.
According to Radio Mozambique, Gaffar Travels and Gaffar Airlines, two travel agencies, have also stopped issuing airline tickets from Malawi, which is seriously affecting their business.
Alternatively, the two agencies are issuing tickets from the UK, India, Pakistan and Turkey, until foreign exchange is available in the country.
The situation has negatively affected the operations of many other local and international companies.
The latest monetary policy report from the Reserve Bank of Malawi, indicates that official gross foreign exchange reserves for the first quarter of this year, stand at $374.48 million, which is a drop of $429.17 million when compared to the fourth quarter of last year.
The report further says that private sector foreign exchange reserves have fallen from $425.52 million last year to $391.49 million this year.
The shortage of foreign currency in Malawi is due to the country's inability to produce for export and the absence of donor assistance, as most development partners have decided to leave the country and reduce the amount of foreign currency available to the economy.
Tobacco, Malawi's main export product, which provides over 60% of foreign exchange earnings, its sales in the last five weeks declined 78% compared to the same period last year.
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