By Kingsley Jassi
The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, is championing a new growth strategy of tobacco production.
Malawi has been under-supplying the tobacco industry for over more than a decade, making the country miss out substantial income and foreign currency.
For instance, last year, the country fell short of meeting 190 million kilogramme (kg) demand, only supplying 133 million kg.
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With demand increasing by 12 percent this year—to 213 million kg—farmers are, again, expected to undersupply, given the 174.4 million kg projected output.
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During a tour of the country’s oldest tobacco company, Limbe Leaf, in Kanengo on Monday, Agriculture Minister Sam Kawale said there was a new conversation with players in the tobacco industry amid the push to increase volumes of Malawi’s largest export commodity.
He said to achieve that, there was a need to engage the stakeholders and remove all bottlenecks that limit productivity, hence the visit to Limbe Leaf.
“This meeting, with the leadership of the company, was meant to see how we can increase the production of tobacco in the country and how the ministry can come in, especially now that we need to increase forex generation— which can only happen if the quality and volume improve as well as availability of market,” Kawale said.
He admitted that there were structural and policy issues to be worked on to facilitate increased productivity, citing market efficiency at the auction floors as an immediate hindrance to be sorted out.
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“At the moment, some farmers are yet to bring their tobacco to the floors because we are moving very slowly. This is aiding side-selling and smuggling,” Kawale said.
On his part, Limbe Leaf Board Chairperson Ronald Mangani said they raised a number of policy issues that needed to be address to fully unlock the tobacco industry’s potential.
He could, however, not disclose the specifics.
“We raised the issues with the minister after the tour and we are happy with the responses we got as we all aim to improve the policy framework,” Mangani said.
He hinted at the company’s desire to make strides in increasing productivity and maximising industrial benefits, taking advantage of global market opportunities that are available.
The company currently provides jobs to close to 4,000 people on a shift at the peak of a season, a figure that could rise if supply of the material increased to the factory capacity level.
