Malawian tobacco farmers optimistic as prices get better

By Xinhua Published: Apr 20, 2023 01:50 PM

People work at the Limbe Auction Floors in Blantyre, Malawi, on April 17, 2023. As the 2023 selling season for tobacco gets underway in Malawi, farmers are expressing optimism as opening prices look promising so far.(Photo: Xinhua)

Buyers check on tobacco at the Limbe Auction Floors in Blantyre, Malawi, on April 17, 2023. As the 2023 selling season for tobacco gets underway in Malawi, farmers are expressing optimism as opening prices look promising so far.(Photo: Xinhua)

As the 2023 selling season for tobacco gets underway in Malawi, farmers are expressing optimism as opening prices look promising so far.

The tobacco market opened on April 12. According to Auction Holdings Limited (AHL), the crop initially sold at an average price of 1.8 U.S. dollars per kilo; a few days later, the average price rose to 1.88 dollars, a positive trend for the season.

Farmers at the Limbe Auction Floors in Blantyre, the country's commercial hub, have expressed optimism that they will make a kill if the trend sustains.

"I'm very excited with the prices, and going like this, I'm optimistic that I'll make more gains than I've ever anticipated," Ben Sakwi told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Tobacco Association of Malawi Trust President Abel Masache Kalima Banda hoped that the prices of the leaf will go up to 2.3 to 3 dollars a kilo.

Banda told Xinhua that the good prices will, in a way, compensate for the "significantly increased cost of production during the recent tobacco-growing season due to high inflation levels in the country."

Tobacco is Malawi's strategic crop and highest foreign exchange earner, accounting for more than half of the country's exports.

According to the Malawi Tobacco Commission, 126 million kilos of tobacco are expected to be sold this season, up from 85 million kilos produced last season, representing a 48 percent increase.

Demand for the leaf is at 170 million kilos in the country, according to the AHL.