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Noose tightened on tobacco smugglers
By
Our Reporter - 30-05-2002 |
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Malawi and Mozambique have agreed to refrain from buying each other’s tobacco to cut out smugglers.
Minutes of a meeting between the two countries’ trade officials that took place in place and sourced by The Nation said the two parties also emphasised the need to harmonise their agricultural policies to iron out differences in the trade related to agricultural products.
The two parties, said the minutes, agreed that the Mozambicans assist in curbing the targeted importation of the kwacha that the smugglers are using for buying Malawi tobacco.
“Having noted the concerns on tobacco, the meeting agreed that the Mozambican authorities should provide tobacco production statistics to assist in the monitoring of the tobacco coming into Malawi for processing,” read the minutes, adding that central banks of both countries should cooperate on monetary issues relating to the leaf trade.
The meeting, held to discuss possibilities of reviving an old bilateral trade agreement, highlighted the tobacco issue after Malawi slapped a 10 percent tax on tobacco exports and imports after realising that it was losing a lot in revenue.
Government, however, rescinded the decision after a protest from the Mozambican authorities.
According to information from Tobacco Control Commission (TCC), an estimated six million kilogrammes of tobacco worth K540 million crossed over the border into Mozambique tax free.
“It was further emphasised that the proposed bilateral trade agreement should assist in resolving the problems of the tobacco trade,” said the minutes.
TCC said last week that the 10 percent levy would have been imposed a long way back but government was lenient because of “good neighbourliness.”
TCC said it has, in conjunction with the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), intensified border checks to curb the illegal trade. |
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