Malawi tobacco exports valued at $650m in 2012
Tobacco emerged Malawi’s top most export product last year, with the National Statistical Office (NSO) figures showing that the crop wired in $653.6 million in export earnings.
According to NSO, such earnings from tobacco accounted for 52 percent of Malawi’s total exports to the rest of the world.
Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) chief executive officer Bruce Munthali, in an interview on Tuesday, described the NSO figures as legitimate and reiterated that tobacco still remains the ‘main driver’ of Malawi’s economy because of its contribution to the country’s wealth.
Said Munthali: “This is a crop which continues to contribute about 60 percent of Malawi’s total export earnings, and where government derives 25 percent of total tax base, directly employing 12 percent of the population and also contributing 13 percent of gross domestic product [GDP].”
A Lilongwe-based agricultural economist also echoed Munthali’s sentiments on Tuesday that a higher contribution of tobacco to Malawi’s export basket last year is a signal that despite pressure from the anti-tobacco lobbyists, championed by the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC), tobacco remains the major foreign exchange earner.
“Yes, there have been ongoing calls to have the economy diversified and have other crops play a significant role in the economy and not the usual traditional crops such as tobacco and tea, among others. But it is clear that Malawi cannot just do away with tobacco in the short-term but in the long- term,” said the economist.
According to NSO break-down, ores, slag and ash emerged Malawi’s second distant export commodity, raking in $135.1 million which represents 10.8 percent of total export earnings last year.
NSO says coffee, tea and spices were Malawi’s third export commodities and contributed about $120 million to export buffer or 10 percent of total exports.
Cotton and oil seeds were on position four and five, respectively, and earned Malawi $55.9 million and $50 million, in that order.
In terms of export destination, NSO indicates that Canada was Malawi’s main export destination seconded by South Africa and Belgium.
While on one hand, top three sources of imports last year were South Africa (22.1 percent), Mozambique (11.5 percent) and China (9.7 percent).
A government 2013 annual economic report shows that overall external trade, indicates that exports and imports both increased in 2012, with imports increasing at a faster rate than exports.
It said total merchandise exports registered an increase estimated at 41 percent from K209.4 billion to K296.5 billion.
