Tobacco buyers’ demand at 175m kg in 2019—TCC

Tobacco buyers have pledged to buy 175 million kilogrammes (kg) of the leaf in the 2018/19 growing season, four million kg more than the previous season.

This is despite the fact that country has for two consecutive years failed to meet production demand.

Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) chief executive officer Kayisi Sadala said in an interview on Saturday that buyers want 144 million kg of burley, 25 million kg of dark-fired tobacco and six million kg of flu-cured tobacco.

He said the regulator hopes to break even in the next growing season despite failing to meet the demand in the last two years.

“For the past two successive years, we have not been able to meet the quota, so it is our intention that we break even.

“As we license farmers, we must do that within the demand that is there because if we oversupply, the market will be suppressed and that is not good for our farmers,” said Sadala.

According to TCC second round crop estimates, the country produced 147.8 million kg of tobacco against buyers’ demand of 171 million kg, representing an under production of about 14 percent.

However, compared to last season, there is an increase of about 38 percent.

“We will have our final crop estimates June end from where we will be able to tell exactly by how much we have failed to meet the buyers’ target this year,” he said.

The country has since earned $78.9 million (about K57.8 billion) from 49.7 million kg in six weeks of tobacco sells.

During the same period last year, the country generated $49.6 million (about K36.5 billion) from 27.5 million kg, according to TCC figures.

Meanwhile, some tobacco farmers from the Southern Region have expressed concern over the offloading and selling of tobacco from Lilongwe Floors, a development they say has affected their sales and income.

“Our tobacco is being rejected despite being of good quality and at the end of the day, we are seeing low quality tobacco being bought which is a setback to us.

“On top of that, we are failing to sell at the Limbe Floors while tobacco from Lilongwe is being bought. This is despite the Central Region having two floors,” said Charles Chikomo, a tobacco farmer from Mayaka in Zomba.

While admitting one instance where one company was allowed to sell its tobacco from Lilongwe, Sadala said they are no longer allowing any company to move their tobacco from Lilongwe to Limbe “until such a time when the Limbe tobacco quota has been duly exhausted.