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| Business |
| Tama warns against burley tobacco |
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by
McDonald Chapalapata, 22 January 2003
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There is a low demand of burley tobacco on the international market and tobacco growers need to focus on flue-cured tobacco if they are to make profits, Tobacco Association of Malawi (Tama) President Albert Kamulaga said on Monday.
Kamulaga was briefing President Bakili Muluzi at the New State Lodge in Lilongwe on his election as President for International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA), which was held in Portugal from October 30 to November 1 last year.
“We have to increase production of flue tobacco because Zimbabwe, which was producing it, can no longer do it now because of the problems with the white farmers there. We should expect good prices on flue tobacco because there is low demand for burley tobacco,” said Kamulaga.
He also said after the ITGA meeting, he, together with his delegation, went on a promotion tour in Europe where they negotiated for a tobacco processing plant.
“If a consortium of business people here in Malawi own this machine, then we would have competition in the auction floors and get better prices,” said Kamulaga who will hold the ITGA presidency for two years.
Muluzi said tobacco plays an important role as it contributes to almost 64 percent of foreign exchange and that farmers should be advised to switch to flue tobacco because of the low demand of the burley tobacco.
“I must ask you, together with the ministry of agriculture to advise our farmers correctly so that they go into flue tobacco to make money for themselves and this country,” he said.
He congratulated Kamulaga on his election as ITGA president and said this is not only a challenge to him but also the country as a whole.
Official estimates from Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) said last year tobacco sales yielded close to US$160 million from a total 134,120,000 kilogrammes.
Out of the total production, 121,300,000 kilogrammes of burley was expected to go through the auction floors at an average price of US$1 dollar per kilogramme.
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