The successes registered during this year’s tobacco selling season have triggered significant increase in the number of growers registering to grow the leaf for 2025 season with the figure recorded by the Tobacco Commission so far passing 50, 0000 up from last year’s 41, 000.

Board chairperson for the commission Dr. Godfrey Chapola said in Lilongwe at the 2024 Tobacco Industry Conference that good prices offered by buyers is among factors that have triggered interest in farmers to grow the leaf.

“The projection is to see Malawi growing over 200 million kilograms of tobacco by the year 2028 to meet market demand,” he said.

The country has in recent years been failing to meet market demand due to climatic shocks and other economic factors.

Despite the tobacco industry facing challenges on the global scene, Dr. Chapola said the demand for Malawi’s tobacco continues to grow.

“Malawi’s tobacco is unique…….so the buyer today knows that if they have to produce a cigarette that will have a global acceptance, they have to include tobacco from Malawi because they have got desirable qualities,” said the board chairperson for Tobacco Commission.

By default, he added, tobacco from Malawi is free from many chemical contaminants because it is clean and rated semi-organic.

Despite the growing interest in farmers to grow the leaf, the ministry of agriculture said the need to manage such interest cannot be overemphasized.

Director of Crop development in the ministry Elida Kazira said adherence to laws regulating the industry is paramount to sustain demand for Malawi’s tobacco globally.

“We are encouraging farmers that when they are contemplating on growing the crop, they should also look at the quality of the leaf, making sure that they are following all the laws that are required in the tobacco industry,” she said.

As the grower licensing period is coming to a close, licensed volumes have surpassed 220 million kilograms, a figure which Tobacco Commission says is a 25 percent increase from 178.9 million kilograms licensed in the same period for the 2023/2024 farming season.

Tobacco Processors Association is optimistic that the demand outlook for Malawi tobacco will remain good in the next coming years.

Chairperson for the association Moffat Amiton Gama said “The best way we can do is to make sure that we produce the crop, of course optimal production, we don’t want to overproduce or underproduce and focus on ensuring that we offer the global market quality product.”

Although the farmers during the 2023/2024 farming and selling season were licensed to grow 265.9 million kilograms, farmers managed to produce 133 million against a trade demand of 190 million kilograms.

Tobacco has for years remained the number one forex earner for Malawi accounting for 60 percent of forex the country generates every year.