Cotton farmers have lamented the delay by State-owned Admarc Limited to start buying their lint three weeks after the Cotton Council of Malawi opened the marketing season.
Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (Admarc) is reportedly constrained due to delayed disbursement of funds from Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation.
Cotton Farmers Association (Cofa) has described the situation as frustrating.
| Nation
In an interview yesterday, Cofa chief executive officer Synoden Mbalafama said although the season began on May 25 2026, there is no good progress because the leading buyer, Admarc, is not yet on the market.
He said the situation is awkward because the four buyers are given particular zones and farmers in zones allocated to Admarc are still waiting hopelessly to sale the cash crop and buy staple food.
Said Mbalafama: “We rely on Admarc because of its capacity and its ability to drive the prices up above the minimum farmgate price so any delays affect competition, more especially prices, which are the most important areas for farmers.
“Again, Admarc has more zones that include the whole of Karonga, whole of Nsanje, whole of Mwanza, whole of Phalombe, part of Balaka, part of Chikwawa, part of Nkhotakota and part of Neno, among others, hence we are receiving pressure from farmers.”
He confirmed having engaged the Cotton Council on the matter and appealed for government support as Admarc’s entrance on the market depends on funding from the Treasury.
In a separate interview, Cotton Council of Malawi executive director Apatsa Selemani confirmed the situation, but said Admarc has assured them that they would start buying next week if they get the funding.
Three other cotton buyers on the market are adhering to the government-set farmgate price of K1 500 per kilogramme (kg).
Admarc chief executive officer Ben Botolo was yet to respond to our questionnaire by press time yesterday.
Secretary to the Treasury Cliff Chiunda is on record having said so far they only released K5 billion to Admarc for maize purchase, leaving a K55 billion deficit.
This year’s cotton selling season was opened on May 25 2026 to run for 90 days in 50 designated markets with production estimated at 22 894 metric tonnes (MT) compared to 10 000MT recorded last year.
