Malawi’s tobacco revenue has increased by 40% in spite of the drought

In spite of a drought caused by El Nino, Malawi’s industry regulator reported a 40% surge in sales of tobacco, its primary export commodity, during the 2024 selling season.

The Malawi Tobacco Commission (TC) reported a 10% growth in sales volumes for the four-month season, spanning from April to August. Malawi ranks among the largest global producers of burley tobacco.

In its final season report, the TC estimated that sales from the leaf rose to $396.28 million, compared to $283.76 million in the previous year. During the same time frame, the volumes rose from 120.5 million kilogrammes to 133.1 million kilogrammes.

These figures indicate a significant increase. “The rise in sales volume, revenue, and the average price per kilogramme demonstrates a robust and favorable performance in comparison to the previous year,” stated the TC.

While the drought severely affected Malawi’s agricultural production, particularly the essential food corn, the tobacco crop shown remarkable resilience, enabling the country to benefit from a significant increase in worldwide demand.

“The global demand for tobacco is currently high because of consecutive severely adverse weather events in major producing countries,” stated Limbani Kakhome, a spokeswoman for Japan Tobacco Leaf, a leading buyer of this item in Malawi.