Malawi is poised to realise more forex from tobacco sales as prices remain steady, five weeks into the marketing season.
A weekly tobacco update published by AHL Tobacco Sales Limited shows that the average price for tobacco reached $2.74 per kilogramme (kg) at the end of week five, representing an eight percent increase from $2.53 recorded in the first week.
The price is also 27.4 percent higher than the $2.15 per kg the leaf fetched at the same time last year.
Meanwhile the country has earned $108.6 million from the sale of 39.6 million kg of all types of tobacco.
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The earnings represent a 68 percent jump compared to $64.6 million realised after selling 30.1 million kg during the same comparative period last year.
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“Weekly average prices for Burley and Flue Cured tobacco improved by the marginal gains of 3 percent and 11.9 percent, respectively. While Dark Fired average price dropped by 1 percent during the week under review,” the update reads.
This has improved foreign exchange reserves position for Malawi, seen at $603.07 million at the end of April, representing 2.41 months of import.
Meanwhile, the Tobacco Commission (TC), and police have intensified anti-illegal trading and smuggling of tobacco efforts by confiscating the leaf traded in undesignated places.
For example, on Friday, TC and the police in Mchinji confiscated flue cured tobacco in a two-tonne truck suspected to have been on its way to Zambia.
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This follows another incident where a separate two-tonne truck was confiscated at Namitete with burley tobacco believed to have been heading to Mozambique on Thursday.
In an interview, TC spokesperson Telephorus Chigwenembe said the actual volumes of the confiscated tobacco in both cases were yet to be determined.
The country is expected to sell 140 million kg of tobacco to the market this year, 50 million kg shy of the 190 million kg demand by tobacco buyers.
During the 2023 tobacco marketing season, Malawi earned $282.62 million after selling 120 million kg of tobacco at an average price of $2.35.
