Tobacco Sales Resume, Prices Low in Limbe

Source from:  by Taonga Sabola, 19 April 2006 - 05:27:43  04/20/2006

Tobacco sales which were temporarily suspended at Limbe Auction Floors last week resumed on Tuesday with no significant improvement on prices. The tobacco market came to a halt on Thursday last week soon after opening after farmers described the prices as unattractive. Although the market progressed uninterrupted Tuesday morning, buyers refused to offer good prices with most tobacco selling at around 80 US cents (about K107) per kilogramme. Dennis Mukhopo, a tobacco farmer from Namadzi in Chiradzulu, said he was very disappointed with the developments going on in the tobacco industry especially on price. "We thought that by reopening the market today [Tuesday] they had resolved the critical issue of prices and that we were going to see some changes but there is nothing. "Most of my tobacco today has gone at 60 US cents per kilogramme which is far much below the production price," he said. Another farmer, Charles Kalumpha from Zomba said it would have been better had it been that President Bingu wa Mutharika had not announced the minimum prices. "We now have minimum prices which are not being adhered to and the government is not doing anything to arrest the problem. Should we say our government is serious with tobacco? Kalumpha queried. An auction official who opted for anonymity argued that the buyers were deliberately trying to frustrate government by offering the miserable prices. Tobacco Control Commission Regional Manager for the South Richard Chinthuzi, however, described the prices yesterday as an improvement from the ones which the buyers were offering on Friday. Mutharika imposed minimum prices for tobacco prices when he opened this year's tobacco selling season in Lilongwe last month. He said no buyer should buy the crop at a price of less than US$1.10 (K147.40) for low grade leaf and that top quality grade should fetch not less than US$1.70 (K227.80). But buyers have not implemented this. Enditem