Mozambique: MLT Hopes to Produce 65,000 Tonnes of Tobacco

Source from:  All Africa 03/23/2011

Maputo - Mozambique's sole tobacco processing plant, Mozambique Leaf Tobacco (MLT), based in the western city of Tete expects to produce 65,000 tonnes of tobacco this year. The factory was set up in 2005, and according to the MLT Managing Director, Rod Hagger, the company started out with a production of around 24,000 tonnes a year. "This year, thanks to the high level of investment we have been making in tobacco production in Tete, we expect to produce around 65,000 tonnes of tobacco", he said, in an interview with AIM. He said that the company feels encouraged to increase its activities because of the investment that the Mozambican state has been making in roads and bridges, which makes it easier to move tobacco and other merchandise. "We are encouraged by the rehabilitation of the Samora Machel bridge, and by the projected construction of a new bridge over the Zambezi", said Hagger. The Samora Machel bridge is a key part of the highway between Zimbabwe and Malawi, which runs through the middle of Tete province. But all heavy trucks will be diverted to the new bridge, about six kilometres downstream, when the new bridge is completed, in about three years time. MLT has become a major employer in Tete, with a workforce of more than 5,000 (including permanent and seasonal workers). The company also works with over 120,000 peasant tobacco growers in Tete, Zambezia and Niassa provinces, providing them with technical assistance, and purchasing the tobacco they produce. Enditem