The 2023 tobacco selling season came to an end on Friday, with total earnings jumping by 55 percent, thanks to improved volumes and prices.
Figures from the market regulator, the Tobacco Commission (TC) show that the country has this year realised a total of $282.618 million up from $182 million last year.
With Malawi needing $250 million every month for her import needs, the $282 million realised this year is enough to keep the wheels of the economy running for 34 days.
This year, the leaf fetched an average price of $2.35 per kilogramme, which was much better than the $2.14 per the green gold attracted last year.
TC spokesperson Telephorous Chigwenembe said this year’s tobacco selling season was a bit shorter than last year, with a total of 17 weeks as compared to last year’s 20 week, despite handling increased volumes.
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In total, this year the market has sold 120.056 million kg up from 85 million kg in 2022.
“The commission finds the just ended tobacco selling season successful because of the good prices through the period, but more especially towards the end when we saw even much better prices on the floors.
“The commission is also happy that sales went on without the disruptions experienced in previous years,” Chigwenembe said.
Tama Farmers Trust President Abel Kalima Banda described this year’s tobacco selling season as good for the farmer.
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According to Kalima Banda, tobacco buyers were sticking to the prices set by the government.
“Moving forward, we would like to see all categories of farmers being engaged when coming up with minimum prices of the crop because the cost of production is different between large-scale farmers who use mechanised equipment and small-scale growers who use other equipment,” Kalima Banda said.
Asked if he sees the improved prices this year attracting many growers who abandoned tobacco growing over the years coming back, Kalima Banda said, there are many things that drove the producers out of the industry.
According to Kalima Banda, most of the growers abandoned tobacco production because of policies in the industry.
He said most of the policies have been developed without the involvement of the growers.
“If we want tobacco to be produced in huge volumes again, we must involve the growers in coming up with some of these policies,” Kalima Banda said.
Speaking at the start of the tobacco selling season, TC Chairperson Godfrey Chapola said the commission has an ambitious plan of increasing tobacco production to 200 million kgs in the next five years.
And speaking when he opened the season, President Lazarus Chakwera said tobacco farmers are the number one forex producers in the country, adding that if all the tobacco farmers stopped producing tobacco today, the economy would collapse.
“Tobacco farmers are the ones making it possible for the rest of us to wear imported clothes, buy imported fuel, take imported medicines, travel abroad, watch foreign channels on our televisions, ride in imported cars, and so forth.
“So as far as I am concerned, we must do everything we can to support tobacco farming to increase its productivity because whether anyone likes it or not, tobacco farmers are the ones keeping our economy on its feet and giving us access to all the goods and services we enjoy from other countries,” Chakwera said.
