Tobacco Commission bemoans nesting
Tobacco Commission (TC) has urged farmers to avoid hiding substandard leaf in bales as this undermines the integrity of local tobacco in international markets.
The remarks come after the commission confiscated 5 080 bales of tobacco (about 450 metric tonnes) during the last 2024 Tobacco Marketing Season which closed on August 2.
Observations during a media tour organised by the commission showed that some growers nest Ligera, the three top most leaves of the plant, with higher quality leaf. Ligera is high in nicotine and is not supposed to be officially sold, according to industry experts.
One of the nested bales confiscated by TC had only three kilogrammes of good quality leaf, with the other 100 kgs consisting of ligera and other debris, demonstrating how widespread the problem is.
In an interview, TC spokesperson Telephorus Chigwenembe said the practice makes local producers incur extra costs and undermines the confidence international buyers have in Malawi tobacco.
He said: “When we confiscate nested tobacco, there is a rehandling fee which is borne by the farmer.”
An official at one of the processing facilities said despite paying for higher quality tobacco, they are getting tobacco that they have to sell at a lower price or won’t be able to sell at all.
