Malawi : Intermediate Buying Under Scrutiny

Source from:  Buy Tione Andsen  05/23/2007

Malawi, Monday, May 21: With increased cases of mixed tobacco at Malawi's main auction floors, government has announced its determination to ban intermediate tobacco buying system starting next year. The intermediate tobacco buying system was normally utilized by middlemen who buy ready grown tobacco leaf from different farmers at random. Government came out of the shell to announce the decision through the deputy minister of agriculture and food security, Bintony Kutsaira when he held a press conference in the Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, last Friday. He said the plan to impose the ban on the system has come about with increased reports of mixed tobacco at the auction floors. Kutsaira said this would enable farmers ease cases of rejected tobacco at the floors unlike what is happening currently at the floors. The Deputy Minister explained that tobacco rejection at the auction floors were being compounded by laxity on part of middlemen who were not properly grading their tobacco. He said this has negatively affected the buying system and it is viewed as a threat to the industry's development. "Normally middlemen buy tobacco leaf of different qualities from a cross section of growers and they mix it into one bale without considering the issue of grading it. Then they precede to auction floors fro sale," Kutsaira lamented. He said for long time the malpractice has helped to compromise the quality of the country's tobacco leaf thereby giving room to buyers offer low prices to farmers. Kutsaira explained that the next growing season government would not allow intermediate buying of tobacco and measures would be put in place to check the malpractice. He described the current selling season as one of the successful one for the country looking at the average prices being offered to farmers. National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi Chairperson, Fanny Makina said government need to move forward in order to redress the sure of rejected tobacco at the floors. Makina observed that the high rate of rejections of the tobacco poses a great threat to prosperity of the farmers in the country. The intermediate buying system mushroomed in 19995 when the new government then had changed the buying system of the country's tobacco. This enabled non growing individuals to venture in to the industry. In a related development, Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) is reminding all tobacco growers in the country that registration for 2007- 2008 of tobacco season started on may 7, 2007. TCC issued a press release that the registration would end on September 30, 2007. Tobacco growers are requested to register at the Commission's offices in Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Limbe before the closing date. The registration fees are as follows, farmers growing tobacco up to 5,000 kg would pay US$ 10 fee, 10,000 kilogrammes would pay US$ 15, 50,0000 kilogrammes are required to pay US$ 50, 100,00 kilogramme need to remit US$ 75 and over 100,000 kilogrammes part ways US$100. Enditem