Zambia expects to increase its tobacco harvest by a quarter and generate $92 million from leaf sales at the close of the marketing season in September.
By August 12 2022, the country’s tobacco growers had sold 35 million kg of leaf through the approval sales floors against projected sales of 33 million kg.
Flue-cured Virginia accounted for 27 million kg and burley represented 6 million kg of the leaf sales.
Agriculture Minister Reuben Mtolo Phiri told the International Tobacco Growers Association’s Africa Congress in Lusaka that the sector had performed well during the season despite various headwinds coupled with low investment.
He said the government is committed to creating an investment-friendly environment.
“The government is now in the process of enacting a new legal framework for the industry that will bring about effective regulation and foresee improved private stakeholder participation across the tobacco value chain,” said Mr Phiri.
Zambia’s eighth national development plan emphasizes crop diversification and increasing profitability among all actors within the value chain.
“The government is now in the process of enacting a new legal framework for the industry that will bring about effective regulation and foresee improved private stakeholder participation across the tobacco value chain,” said Mr Phiri.
How can you be proud of $92m as a country as a whole…do you not see that there is no future in tabacco? You have more chance of bringing in 200 times more forex if you legalised the herb…growers and farmers in US are coming to Malawi and Zambia to obtain mother plants for their commerical farms we are sleeping stating that we are “Christain nation” yet we are sellin g tabacco which is very toxic and a burden on our health services.
Really Tobacco. Tobacco free Zambia, my cry!
As long as that stuff is sold abroad so that it kills upnd diasprans that is fine. We don’t want smokers here.
Let us kill more people while we make money! This is sick. Zambia should stop producing tobacco. Our farmers should be encouraged to diversify.