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| National |
| Bingu lambasts tobacco buyers |
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by
George Ntonya, 28 July 2004
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09:02:57
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Minutes after Agriculture Minister Chakufwa Chihana accused Tobacco Association of Malawi (Tama) of previously ripping off tobacco growers in the country, President Bingu wa Mutharika took on international tobacco buyers, criticising them for what he called exploitative prices at the auction floors.
Chihana and Mutharika were speaking on Tuesday at the opening of Tama’s annual congress held at a hotel in Lilongwe.
The president lamented that although the country depends largely on tobacco for its foreign exchange earnings, the picture in the tobacco industry is not rosy because of the ongoing anti-smoking campaign and poor prices at the auction floors. He described the auction floors prices as a reflection of neo-colonialist exploitation.
“It is a glaring example of neo-colonialism, where somebody who is buying controls the price,” the President said, amid hand-clapping by delegates.
“The farmers are getting poorer and poorer while these buyers are getting richer and richer,” he added, urging the buyers to change their attitude and reduce their profit margins for the prices to improve.
He also urged the 80 year-old Tama to fight for better prices on behalf of all tobacco farmers, particularly smallholder growers, saying from now onwards nobody should dictate tobacco prices.
“There is no reason why someone should come here and throw wool over our face and pretend that they are giving us good prices, when we know what the market is offering globally,” a visibly annoyed Mutharika told the 16th congress.
According to him, Malawi can sell its tobacco to other buyers in the world if its traditional clients continue with their exploitative tendencies.
“There are so many buyers globally, so there is no reason why someone should come here and dictate prices on the pretext that we cannot sell our tobacco anywhere. We will sell [our] tobacco somewhere else if they don’t want it,” he said.
The President also warned “unscrupulous traders” who are buying tobacco from neighbouring countries at the expense of the local produce.
Charles Graham, Tobacco Exporters Association of Malawi (Team) chair and managing director of Limbe Leaf Company, said in an interview this year’s tobacco prices are fair and that there has always been room for negotiations between the growers and buyers.
Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) general manager Godfrey Chapola could not comment on whether or not tobacco prices at the auction would improve because of the President’s concerns.
On the question of Malawi looking for other buyers if the traditional customers maintain the low prices, Chapola said there are a number of issues to look into before such a decision can be implemented.
Speaking before Mutharika, Chihana told the congress that government decided to reduce taxes tobacco growers were paying to Tama and other institutions in the industry to improve on the “pathetic” take-home money the smallholder tobacco growers used to get from the auction floors.
He also described the mandatory Tama membership fee, which the government has abolished, as “internationally unacceptable”.
“This was illegal and unacceptable, morally,” he said.
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