TobaccoReporter logo

Tag: quota

  • Malawian Tobacco Farmers Advised to Adhere to Quotas Next Season

    Malawian Tobacco Farmers Advised to Adhere to Quotas Next Season

    Tama Farmers Trust advised Malawian tobacco farmers to strictly follow Tobacco Commission (TC) quotas in the 2025/26 growing season to prevent overproduction and prolonging the selling process, which would potentially disrupt next season. The 2024/25 season, which opened in April, will close on October 24, making it one of the longest in recent years.

    Initial projections estimated Malawi would produce 174.4 million kg of tobacco this year, but because of favorable weather conditions was able to sell 214 million kg for $532 million, up from last year’s $396 million.

    Trust president Abiel Kalima Banda praised TC for ensuring that all produced tobacco was sold, with remaining volumes being purchased through the Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi to guarantee full sales.

  • Pakistani Growers Getting Squeezed as Cultivation Begins

    Pakistani Growers Getting Squeezed as Cultivation Begins

    Growers in Pakistan started cultivating Virginia and white Patta tobacco last week, but news for them was not all good as purchasing companies have again slashed their quota. The quota was 85.5 million kg in 2023, 77.3 million in 2024, and now reportedly 74.8 million kg for this year. Making the matter worse, according to Liaqat Yousafzai, central president of Tobacco Growers Association Pakistan, is that purchasing companies again didn’t notify growers of their intentions, causing farmers to spend time and money growing surplus crop that will be thrown away.

    “The big issue is that the companies’ demands are decreasing while the tobacco production is increasing,” Yousafzai said. “It is the only cash crop with which the full-year expenditures of the farmers are linked. The companies have reduced their quota for the current year like 2024 without informing the growers in advance.”

    However, when contacted by reporters for The Dawn newspaper, officials for purchasing companies said they had made clear previously that the farmers who failed to execute agreements with the buyers of their choice should give up growing tobacco.