Africa-Press – Malawi. Tobacco farmers under Talima Network—a coalition of growers from across the country—have expressed concern over the poor pricing of tobacco on the market.
KANYONDO—The disparities in prices of tobacco are wideSpeaking at a press briefing in Mzuzu, the network’s chairperson, Jaih Kanyondo, said they have been engaging the government since April this year, but the situation has not changed.
The press briefing came just hours after Agriculture Deputy Minister Benedicto Chambo made an unannounced visit to the Mzuzu Auction Floors on Friday morning, when he also decried low prices.
Chambo expressed worry that buyers were sticking to minimum prices regardless of the quality of the leaf at the floors.
“These buyers need to be inspected every time because this has become a common practice. I was at Chinkhoma on Wednesday and today I am here at Mzuzu Auction Floors. I have observed the same thing; [buyers are] sticking to minimum prices.
“We cannot say farmers are bringing bad tobacco to the market; that will be a lie. So, if they will continue this [practice of offering minimum prices for quality leaf], we will close this [market] and go back to the drawing table. We need to see change from next week,” he said.
Kanyondo said, in April this year, they wrote the Ministry of Agriculture and the Tobacco Commission (TC), asking them to consider revising upwards prices of tobacco on the formal market
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