Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) in Malawi has urged tobacco farmers to stick to quota to avoid overproduction.
TCC Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Luka urged tobacco farmers to adhere to the limits of production that the commission set.
Luka added that overproduction leads to low prices as the supply is bigger than the demand from buyers.
During the 2015/16 farming season, Malawi farmers overproduced the country’s green tobacco a development that witnessed challenges at the market.
Among the challenges included high rejection rate and low price offered by buyers at the country’s auction floors.
During the 2017 tobacco marketing season, farmers still complained of low prices despite the country producing 124 million Kilograms (Kgs) of the crop against a required demand of 154 million Kgs of all types of tobacco.
Of the 124 million Kgs produced, 106.5 million Kgs of tobacco was sold at an average price of US$1.99/kg
