Tobacco earns K22.8bn, rejection rate still high

Tobacco revue has hit $12.8 million (about K22.3 billion) within the first two weeks of the 2026 Tobacco Marketing Season amid high rejection rate and farmer frustrations over prices. Data provided by Tobacco Commission (TC) on the sidelines of the official opening of sales at Mzuzu Floors yesterday indicated that buyers have bought 5 973 866 kilogrammes (kg) at an average price of $2.16 per kg, generating $12 873 603 revenue. TC said for Mzuzu Floors, the rejection rate stood at 69 percent or 304 auction bales, a decline from 90 percent recorded in Lilongwe when the market opened two weeks ago.

When sales began yesterday in Mzuzu, Nyasa Tobacco offered the highest price of $2.80 (about K4 876.20) per kg for auction tobacco. The commission recorded 441 and 898 auction and contract tobacco bales respectively, with the total number of bales standing at 1 339. Since the start of the season, government has constantly acknowledged the pressure of excess supply with the 2026 Second Round Tobacco Production Estimates Survey indicating that Malawi is expected to produce 197 million kg of tobacco, representing 14 percent more than the buyers’requirement pegged at 170 million kg.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Tobacco Farmers Association of Malawi (Tama) Trust president Abel Kalima-Banda said the crop’s rejection was still on the higher side despite buyers honouring the agreement on prices. “I am happy to see that there is an improvement in terms of pricing but not on rejection. The buyers are honouring the agreement we had as an industry that they have to put something on top of the government set minimum prices,”he said.

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In her opening statement, Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Roza Mbilizi admitted that global production has moderated the demand for tobacco, with companies carrying over stocks from last year while international buyers were yet to place their orders. She said government has engaged various stakeholders across the industry in search for solutions on the rejections and admitted that the problem is complex and demands to be addressed with sober judgement. Said Mbilizi: “As we navigate these challenges, government will not watch as farmers sell tobacco at prices below the cost of production.

The day we allow that is the day we forfeit our responsibility as leaders. “President Mutharika has his eyes and ears on the floors and he has directed me to make sure that all tobacco on the floors is bought. How we do that is a matter that belongs to us as government.” TC board chairperson the Reverend Daniel Gunya hoped that there will be improvement in the next two weeks, admitting that the rejection rate during the opening weeks has been a chronic problem for the past three years.

The weak opening comes at a time when Malawi’s external trade position remains under pressure. National Statistical Office data show the country’s import bill rose to $2.67 billion from $2.2 billion the previous year, widening the trade gap.

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