Tobacco farmers give mixed views on prices
Tobacco farmers have described the ongoing tobacco market as mixed, saying despite prices being higher compared to the previous season, high costs of production could eat into their earnings.
The farmers expressed the sentiments on Friday when the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture visited Limbe Floors in Blantyre to appreciate progress on the tobacco sales.
Zomba-based seasoned tobacco farmer James Guja, while commending buyers for adhering to the set minimum prices, said farmers may not get the most from their labour.
He said: “We have accumulated loans with our buyers but also invested a lot on production. We have really spent a lot.
“Our plea is consideration on the prices so that we get the most of the labour invested in this kind of farming.”
Speaking separately, Willard Mawindo, a Mangochi-based tobacco farmer, said their major worry is the high cost of production.
“The prices are good, but do not meet our expectations. We have a weak kwacha which should have translated to more kwacha for us but this is not reflecting. We invest a lot but the outcome tends to disappoint us every year,” he said.
Speaking in an interview, the committee’s chairperson Sameer Suleman while acknowledging the farmers’ concerns, observed that the prices are fairly good this year compared to last year.
“What is important is that we proceed with this momentum.
“Most of the times we see that prices are high at the beginning but as we progress, the prices tend to decline,” he said.
Tobacco Commission chief executive officer Joseph Chidanti Malunga said they are optimistic of a good tobacco market season on account of good prices and low rejection rate.
He said: “We can all agree that the cost of production has been high this year, but regardless, we are happy to see that the average prices are much better than what we have seen before. The price is now hovering at over $2 [about K2 072 ] per kilogramme [kg].
“What is also exciting is that we have new buyers and that the demand is high this year compared to the production.”
According to the tobacco regulator, this year buyers demanded 170 million kg but farmers have produced about 126 million kg, which is 44 million kg short of what is being demanded this year.
This year, the lowest price on the market is $1 (about K1 036).
Last year, the highest tobacco price on the market was $2.40 (K2 486.4) per kg while the lowest was $0.90(about K932.4) per kg.
This year, the market has 10 buyers.
