Banning buyers from growing

Effective the next growing season, leaf merchants will no longer be allowed grow their own tobacco in Malawi, President Peter Mutharika said on May 4th, according to a report in The Maravi Post.

During a tour to the north of the country, Mutharika complained about the prices offered by leaf buyers to independent farmers.

“Tobacco buying companies will not be allowed to grow tobacco because they are stealing from the farmers,” he said.  “They grow their own tobacco and buy just a little from us.

“They even go to the extent of rejecting some. They will not grow the tobacco so that they are forced to buy from farmers. This will start from this year,” said Mutharika.

To ensure compliance with strict customer production requirements, leaf merchants in Malawi have been sourcing an increasing share of their tobacco from contracted growers rather than at auction in recent years.