The Food Reserve Agency (FRA), the Government parastatal mandated to manage the national strategic stock and engage in market facilitation, recently announced the purchasing prices of selected food staples during the 2017/18 marketing year (May/April). The price of maize was set at MWK 60 (USD 0.08) per bag of 50 kilograms, which is nearly 30 percent lower than in the previous year, and the procurement target is of 500 000 tonnes. In general, FRA buys maize above the market price and then sells it to millers at a subsidized rate; however, in the current year, it will no longer sell to millers, while it will increase the sales to vulnerable communities. The purchasing price of soybeans was put at MWK 130 (USD 0.18) per bag of 50 kilograms, while that of paddy rice was set at MWK 70 (USD 0.1) per bag of 40 kilograms. The Government also authorized 100 000 tonnes of maize from the FRA for export to East African countries and other countries in the Great Lakes region.