Malawi President negotiates for better tobacco prices with major buyer Phillip Morris

President Peter Mutharika has appealed to Phillip Morris International (PMI) of USA to consider increasing their tobacco buying prices depending on the market forces to enable farmers meet at least some of their economic challenges.

“Farmers face a lot of problems ranging from bank and group loans, farm inputs to natural disasters, an increase in their profit margins would make a huge difference in their lives”, said Mutharika during a meeting with the Chairman of Phillip Morris International, Philip Morris in Washington on Tuesday.

He assured the company which is the major customer for Malawi tobacco representing approximately 50 percent of the market share that his government has put in place a series of measures in order to produce a clean and compliant tobacco crop.

Among other measures, Mutharika said government has rolled out a robust Integrated Tobacco Production Systems (IPS) based on good agricultural practices, good labour practices, and good environmental management practices (re-a forestation) and migration to a comprehensive, decentralized tobacco grower registration system to enhance traceability and to enable the definitiveness of the data.

Mutharika also stated that Malawi is one stop shop for all major types of tobacco which include; burley, flue cured and dark fire cured tobacco making the country one of the largest producer of tobacco in Africa. He said it was in this regard that his government was requesting the Philip Morris International to upscale their presence in Malawi by increasing its investments in the country that is making Malawi the headquarters for the African Region.

The President said this could be achieved by investing in cigarette manufacturing, promoting smallholder driven flue cured tobacco production through the company’s local suppliers, increase provision of fully sponsored burley tobacco growers through IPS model and to expand corporate social responsibility programmes in environmental mitigation, health and education.

In his response, PMI Chairman Philip Morris reiterated his commitment to continue being the largest buyer of tobacco in Malawi which is pegged at over US 200 million dollars in a year saying that his company is more ultimate for farmers and will continue doing so in a more responsible way.

“IPS is committed to economic development of tobacco farmers in Malawi as such it will do everything possible to support them depending on the market bases”, he added.

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