Tobacco Asia

tobaccoasia 57 Boegli.ch STORY TELL YOUR BRAND Boegli–Gravures can help you to develop subtle, refined and ingenious ways of elevating your brand's characteristics and enhance your consumer brand experience. Let us partner with you bring new dimensions to your marketing. advert magazine 2017.indd 6 23.11.2016 08:21:34 Annual Total Production vs. PTTL Purchases *Crop season 2016 had not fully concluded at the time of data collation. Source: Premium Tama Tobacco Malawi Ltd. Tobacco Type Crop Season 2015 Crop Season 2016* Total crop PTTM Median Total Crop PTTM Median (mn kgs) Purchased Price Paid (mn kgs) Purchased Price Paid (mn kgs) (US$/kg) (mn kgs) (US$/kg) Burley 168.248 21.249 1.67 175.000 25.229 1.29 (12.6% of total crop) (14.9% of total crop) FCV 23.060 1.634 2.35 17.536 0.555 2.56 (7.1% of total crop) (3.2% of total crop) DFC 1.372 0.273 2.17 2.646 0.873 2.00 (19.9% of total crop) (33.0% of total crop) as much as possible, the government's Tobacco Control Commission (TCC) has started to imple- ment a quota system to regulate how much bur- ley each farmer is to produce each year, whereby the total quota must reflect existing demand. But when these quotas are set too low, it on the other hand creates the real threat that farmers might see their already extremely small net earnings melt away. "That's why TAMA establishes partnerships with local tobacco merchants, asking them to in- crease their order volumes and – hopefully – also pass on the request to their international market associates," Thole explained. Massive issues to be tackled still Yet another challenge that TAMA has observed is Malawi's market centralization. "It forces growers to transport their produce long distances to reach the next market, thereby increasing their over- head cost." Add that to Malawi's landlocked loca- tion without direct access to the sea and it drives production cost higher still. "We need improved production technologies to minimize expenses, not only at farm level but also in terms of logis- tics," Thole said. High borrowing interest rates cause additional headaches, particularly for cash- strapped smallholders. That is why an agricultural bank is sorely needed too, according to Thole. So far, Malawi has none. But even in the face of this massive onslaught of issues, TAMA is trying its best to support its member base. The association heavily supports IPS, is very much involved in grower education and also encourages the formation of more grow- er cooperatives around the country. As part of its sustainability program, TAMA safeguards grow- ers' health, implements measures to protect and rehabilitate the environment. The program also ensures that growers' children – as the next gen- eration of farmers - are attending school and, in Thole's words, "are not not involved in any harm- ful activities on the farm."

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