Tobacco season to open on April 12

This year’s tobacco season is set to commence on April 12 as authorities finalise preparatory works in all four auction floors.

The Tobacco Commission – TC confirmed to Capital FM the imminent market opening on the said date starting with main auction Kanengo followed by Chinkhoma and Limbe on 13 and 17 April respectively.

The last on the line will be the Mzuzu market which is projected to open on 2 May.

Meanwhile, the TC’s public relations officer, Telephorus Chigwenembe, suggests that the commission is still in the process of setting up the minimum prices that will be ratified by agriculture authorities.

“Preparations have been almost finalised and we are advising growers to ensure that they maintain quality of the leaf during grading to guarantee fair prices.

We expect the number of buying companies to increase this year and this is good news to growers because if more buyers participate on auction market, competition is high thereby raising prices.” Chigwenembe said.

However, Chigwenembe did not disclose the new companies arguing their identities will be revealed later.

Currently, consultations continue on formulation of minimum prices prior to ratification by agriculture authorities according to the TC’s public relations officer.