Malawi Commits to Tobacco in Face of WHO Opposition

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 05/07/2009

Malawi will continue to promote tobacco production until viable alternatives are identified, according to a report in The Daily Times quoting a speech by the country's principal secretary for agriculture, Andrew Daudi. Daudi was speaking in Salima where he officially opened the annual meeting of the International Tobacco Growers Association. Daudi said Malawi appreciated efforts by the World Health Organization to regulate tobacco production and marketing through the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. But because of the significance of tobacco to the country's economy, it could not abandon production overnight. The Malawi government, however, would continue promoting economic diversification gradually to reduce the country's dependence on tobacco, he added. Enditem