Vol. 12(1), pp. 37-49, January-March 2020
DOI: 10.5897/JDAE2019.1125
Article Number: BCA4AE463300
ISSN 2006-9774
Copyright ©2020
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
http://www.academicjournals.org/JDAE
Journal of Development and Agricultural
Economics
Full Length Research Paper
Spatial price transmission between white maize grain
markets in Mozambique and Malawi
Helder Zavale* and Rafael da Cruz Macamo
Department of Agricultural Economics and Development, Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering,
Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique.
Received 15 October, 2019; Accepted 21 February, 2020
The objective of this study was to measure white maize grain price transmission among markets in
Mozambique and Malawi. Our analysis included two major deficit markets (Maputo in Southern
Mozambique and Blantyre in Southern Malawi) and two major surplus markets (Chimoio in Central
Mozambique and Nampula in Northern Mozambique). We used monthly wholesale white maize grain
prices covering the period 2000 through 2016 to test for and quantify the magnitude of short- and long-
run price transmission. To do so, we employed a combination of methodological approaches: Johansen
cointegration test, Granger causality test and error correction model (ECM). Our findings revealed that
Chimoio market has joint long-run relationship with Maputo, Nampula and Blantyre markets. All three
Mozambique market pairs (Maputo and Chimoio; Maputo and Nampula; and Chimoio and Nampula)
exhibited bidirectional causality in the long run. However, price changes in Maputo, Chimoio and
Nampula are transmitted to Blantyre, but not the reverse. In the short run, only two Mozambique market
pairs (Maputo and Chimoio, and Chimoio and Nampula) show bidirectional causality. Blantyre appeared
to not exhibit short-run causality with Maputo, Chimoio nor Nampula.
Key words: Market integration, white maize grain, causality, price transmission
INTRODUCTION
Maize is among the most important commodities in terms
of production and consumption in both Malawi and
Mozambique. Data from the nationally representative
Integrated Household Survey (IHS), administrated by the
Malawi National Statistics Office (NSO) in 2016,
administrated by the Malawi National Statistics Office
(NSO), show that 70.8% of the 3.8 million households
grew maize in the 2015/2016 agricultural season in
Malawi. Similarly, data from the nationally representative
Integrated Agricultural Survey (IAI), conducted by
Mozambique Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
(MASA) in 2015, conducted by the Mozambique Ministry
of Agriculture and Food Security (MASA), indicate that
67.2% of the about 4.0 million households grew the crop
in the 2014/2015 agricultural season in Mozambique.
These two nationally representative surveys also reveal
that the shares of the total cultivated area accounted for
by maize in each country averaged 56.2% in Malawi and
*Corresponding author. Email: hzavale@gmail.com.
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