TCC bans quota increase in 2016 tobacco season
Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) has banned the increase of quotas during the 2016 tobacco selling season.
The tobacco regulatory body will only allow 10 percent of the initial volume applied for on both contract and auction trading
systems, according to deputy chief executive officer David Luka.
In the past, growers were not restricted to uplift their quotas when sales were in progress.
In an interview on the sidelines of a Tobacco Association of Malawi (Tama) launch of the annual area meetings at Mpherembe in Mzimba this week, Luka said this will align production to buyer’s demand or international trade requirement.
He said: “This is in line with the tobacco industry policy of aligning production to demand whose aim is to achieve sustainable production and marketing of tobacco. As such growers, they are requested to adhere to their allocated quotas.”
Luka said because of poor adherence to quotas, the tobacco industry has
been experiencing overproduction, resulting into low market prices.
He said the ban will, therefore, bring sanity in the industry and also deal with intermediate buyers.
Minimum quota for clubs and estates is pegged at 3 000 kilogrammes (kg) with maximum quota of 15 000 kg for clubs.
Malawi produced 192 kg of tobacco last year raking in $337.4 last year (about K251 billion). n
