Jadson Mankwala has been hit so badly by rising prices that he has been reduced to scavenging twigs for firewood, no longer able to afford the small plastic bags of charcoal for sale in the Malawian city of Blantyre.
“I’m struggling to buy energy to cook at home, so I have gathered wood,” said the unemployed 39-year-old, a few thin branches under his arm.
The Ukraine conflict, combined with currency depreciations triggered by rate rises in the US and years of economic mismanagement at home, have left inflation in Malawi running at 25 per cent. The rising cost of staples such as maize, which makes up nearly half of Malawi’s inflation basket, means there is little cash for other items, even bags of charcoal worth just 30 US cents.
您已阅读13%（738字），剩余87%（4995字）包含更多重要信息，订阅以继续探索完整内容，并享受更多专属服务。