A Historical Perspective
Tobacco has been grown in Malawi for over 100 years. There are reports that Flue Cured tobacco was first exported from Nyasaland Protectorate (pre-independence name for Malawi) at about the turn of the 20th century. Fire-Cured and Burley tobacco were introduced later with commercial production beginning after the Second World War. Tobacco Production is widely dispersed over most of Malawi. Burley and Flue-Cured types are grown in all the three regions. Flue-Cured is largely produced in the Central and Southern Regions except for a small pot in the north.
Malawi’s tobacco production has often been affected by political events in nearby Zimbabwe. This was the case in the mid 1960’s when the United Nations imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia). Demand for Malawi’s tobacco, notably Flue-Cured, soared during the late 1960’s as importers sought low cost substitutes for the Zimbabwe crop.
Malawi’s production of the Flue-Cured tobacco rose from about 12 million kilos in 1980 to 26.3 million kilos in 1996. During the same period, Burley production increased from 2.2 million kilos to 16.6 million kilos. Total leaf production tripled during the same period from 18.6 to 54.1 million kilos.
Following the lifting of the United Nations trade sanctions against
1900 - Tobacco barn
The demand for Burley during the early
1990’s was directly influenced by disease and adverse weather conditions in the
Unites States that reduced the 1979 Burley crop by 78,000 tons in that country.
The 1980 US Burley crop suffered from
a drier than normal season and the recovery was less than needed to meet demand.
In addition, the 1981 crop suffered the disease problem that affected the 1979 Burley
crop. These factors resulted in a reduction of US Burley stocks that led to
The auction price of the 1981 Malawi
Burley crop rose by 97% compared to that of 1980. This consequently led to the increase
in the production of the 1982 Malawi Burley crop by 47%. New farmers entered Burley
production and established farmers increased acreage. However, demand for the 1982
27 million kilo crop was still strong and compensated for the increased production
so that prices only fell marginally.
The two years of high prices spurred
growers who, without any form of control, increased acreage by 87% and production
reached 41.5 million kilos in 1983. Disaster struck and auction floor prices fell
by 40%. In a reactive manner, the Ministry of Agriculture in conjunction with the
Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) introduced a quota system for Burley production
from 1984, however the quota was lifted in 1994 on the recommendation of the World
Bank.
In 1984 Burley production was limited
to 30 million kilos. This level was maintained until 1987 when production increased
to 36.8 million kilos and this further increased to 45 million kilos in 1988. In
1989 production reached 61.2 million kilos.
This increase was a result of 2 consecutive
droughts in the U.S. Burley producing regions in 1987 and 1988. Another factor was
the relative low price of Malawi Burley in relation to the U.S. Burley because of
the relative strengths of the two countries’ currencies. Furthermore, and probably
the most important factor was the acceptance of customers that Malawi Burley has
qualities that compete favorably with any other region.
1990 saw the start of a big surge
of burley production in
In 1994 the production dropped back to 71 million kilos. The following year a “grow more Burley” campaign raised production up to 100 million kilos again with buoyant prices being paid once again. Over the next 12 years a crop between 110 and 130 million kilos was produced. However in 2004 due to ideal weather conditions a crop of 151 million kilos was grown and sold over the auction floors at an average price of $1.09 per kilo.
1908 - The first train to arrive in Blantyre
First Malawi President at the opening of the Limbe floors in 1992.
Quality picking of tobacco prior to threshing.
Quality Dark Fired tobacco.
Tobacco farmer on his tobacco estate.
Harvest storage on an estate.
In Malawi Flue Cured tobacco is grown by 350 registered growers
in about 500 large estates. The flue cured tobacco produced in
The main problem facing Flue Cured
tobacco in
Production of Flue Cured was 24 million
kilos in 1987. It dropped to 20.7 million kilos in 1988 and 19.7 in 1989. With increased
demand for Malawi Flue Cured tobacco, auction prices have been steadily increasing.
In 1992
In 2003 with the encouragement of certain manufacturers, tobacco dealers were encouraged to invest in Flue Cured tobacco farming with the intention of increasing production and reducing growing costs. Unfortunately the huge capital costs involved in bringing the crop up to a marketable size again could not be recovered from the cost of the sale of the tobacco. In 2007 the dealers decided to pull out of the FCV investment and hand the growing of Flue Cured tobacco back to the farming organizations.
Fire Cured tobacco is produced by
smallholders on customary land. More than 50,000 growers produce Fire Cured tobacco.
On average each grower has slightly less than one hectare. Fire Cured tobacco is
divided into Northern Division Fire Cured (NDF) and Southern Division Fire Cured
(SDF). Generally these two crops are the same in that the seed used is the same,
but SDF tends to be lighter cured than NDF due to a lower supply of wood for curing
in
The production of Fire Cured as well
as Oriental Cured tobaccos is controlled by ADMARC. Once a crop target is determined,
ADMARC sets a quota for each grower based on his historical performance, his capacity
to produce, and the recommendation of the government extension officer in the area.
Free seed is distributed to growers based on the size of their quota. During the
growing season, the smallholder farmers are provided with agronomic advice by the
extension officers in their areas.
Prompted by two consecutive years
of high price a crop of 21 million kilos was produced in 1991. This huge crop created
a worldwide overproduction which was to last for a few years. The crop was liberated
from ADMARC control and farmers were able to sell their tobacco directly to the
market.
This decision had a detrimental effect on the quality of the tobacco and very low prices were fetched at the market, a situation which forced the farmers to sell their tobacco across the border to Mozambique. Today the crop is in a recovery stage with efforts being made to get production up to marketable levels.
Most of Malawi’s Fire Cured tobacco is exported to Europe for use in the Roll Your Own tobacco industry. Traditionally, Malawi tobacco is very popular in the Egyptian water pipe trade.
This tobacco directly competes with U.S. Fire Cured tobacco exports. In fact most of the European companies that buy from the U.S. are also major purchasers of Malawi Fire Cured tobacco.
The Malawi Oriental tobacco crop was
first introduced into
In 1973 the R.J. Reynolds Company
showed interest in tip (upper plant position). These were sent to them for analysis
and in return the company sent an Oriental Tobacco expert to
Mzimba district was picked for the growing of Oriental tobacco not because it has special soils and weather, but because of the political need for distribution of cash crops to smallholder farmers in various districts throughout the country.
Today, over 50% of Malawi’s population has some sort of involvement in the tobacco industry and on average tobacco contributes 80% of the economic revenue of the country. Over the years the nation has emerged the largest exporter of Burley tobacco in the world-exporting to over 70 countries. Needless to say, the tobacco industry plays a vital role to Malawi’s economy, and remains a prime source of revenue for socio-economic development within Malawi.
Kanengo, Lilongwe, Malawi