Malawi president Peter Mutharika Monday said the country will continue producing tobacco as the crop remains the country’s major forex earner.
The Malawi President said this during the opening of the 2018 tobacco market season in the country’s capital, Lilongwe where he emphasized that the green gold will remain the country’s first cash crop for years to come.
Mutharika said some buyers have also assured Malawi government that they will continue buying the gold leaf and the president has since appealed to Malawi farmers to strive for quality leaf to attract good prices for international market.
He said government will strengthen the legal framework in the tobacco industry to protect the farmers from being exploited by the buyers.
“At the moment all the technical work on amendment of the Tobacco Act is done, the bill is ready for discussion at cabinet level and might be tabled in Parliament this coming June,” said President Mutharika.
The Malawi leader also appealed to all security agencies to enforce the law to stop illegal vending of the leaf and he asked buyers to offer higher prices to motivate the farmers.
According to the country’s Tobacco Control Commission, this tobacco season Malawi has produced only 147 million kg, while the buyers’ demand is 171 million kg.
The commission chairperson Inkosi Mbelwa V, said the drop in production is due to the dry spells that the country experienced during the growing season.
During the 2016/17 growing season, Malawi realized about 212 million U.S. dollars from about 107 million kg of tobacco that were sold through the legal channels.
Currently farmers have already registered their dismay with the prices that are being offered by buyers with a maximum of 1.5 U.S. dollars and a minimum of 80 cents offered per kg. Enditem
