Tobacco sales start on low note at Limbe Auction Floors
Tobacco growers have expressed worry at Limbe Auction Floors on the first day of tobacco trading because of low prices but the government has said the prices would pick up.
The highest prices the tobacco fetched was US$1.20 whilst the lowest was 80 cents.
However, tobacco farmers on contract smiled all the way to the bank when their tobacco fetched as high as US$2.20.
Minister of Agriculture Joseph Mwanamvekha said during the opening of the floors that the prices reflected the quality of the tobacco on the market.
He told farmers to improve on the quality of the tobacco if the leaf is to fetch higher prices.
“The government is engaging the tobacco farmers so that they should offer better prices for our farmers,” said Mwanamvekha.
He said the prices would pick up in the course of the tobacco marketing season as the demand is higher than the supply following a slump in production by 13 per cent.
The tobacco trading at Kanengo Auction floors in Lilongwe is also hit by low tobacco prices except for tobacco on contract.
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It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that prices will go south from here. There’s no way they would go up unless there’s an artificial intervention or subsidy by government. The government should just encourage tobacco farmers t diversify to other crops. Tobacco is a dying crop given the aggressive anti-tobacco lobbying around the world supported WHO. For once Malawi should be visionary and prepare for the world in the next 5-10 years.
Malawi.. or rather our poor country’s leaders.. being ‘visionary’?
I really do wish.. but realistically.. no chance brother!
Certainly not under our current president.
Doctor Hastings was visionary.. similarly for Doctor Bingu.. at least in the beginning.
But since then..
The current (and probably next) ‘Professor’ president.. I don’t think he’s had even one original idea in his entire (long!) life… never mind the many burst of ideas that are required for someone to be truly ‘visionary’..
Anyway.. we can only hope..
I certainly agree with you. Banda was truly vissionary. We need some of that caliber to clean this rotten system that fell in place after 1994.