Tobacco Growers Want Borders Opened

Source from:  Zodiak Malawi 03/30/2011

Tobacco growers in the south out of desperation have asked government to open up the boarders for them to start selling their tobacco outside Malawi because they are fed up with the experiences in the local market. Some of the growers found at Limbe Auction floors told ZBS that in neighboring countries like Mozambique, buyers offer better prices unlike the 55 cents that buyers in Malawi are offering per kilogram. The demand comes after a second suspension of tobacco sales at the market fueled by high rate of tobacco bales that buyers rejected citing poor quality and mixture of grades as reasons for the rejections. The rate of bales that buyers rejected on Monday morning at Limbe Auction floors reached an alarming rate forcing the growers to call for a brief suspension. Records from Tobacco Control Commission southern region office indicated that for the first time since the market opened the number of bales rejected reached 85 percent. TCC regional manager for the south Mr. Richard Chinthunzi told ZBS that the reasons given by the buyers for rejecting most of the tobacco were not valid. Some of the growers expressed disappointment over the actions by the buyers saying they are offering prices for poor tobacco yet quality tobacco is the one they are rejecting claiming the growers were mixing grades hence difficult fir them to come up with a price. Mr. Chinthunzi said the buyers have promised to make some improvements in the number of tobacco bales they are rejecting for proper progress of the market. Fed up with the experience, growers in the south have asked for an opening government to give then some freedom to start selling their tobacco to buyers in neighboring countries. They claim that for instance in Mozambique, buyers are offering better prices, over 2 dollars per kilogram of tobacco when here the same tobacco buyers are offering less than 80 cents. If it was not for the encouragements that the growers get from government and stakeholders in the tobacco industry, growers vow they would not have been growing tobacco. Enditem