Malawi Opens Tobacco Season; Farmers Complain of Low Prices

(Bloomberg) Malawi, the world’s biggest producer of burley tobacco, opened the 2011 season yesterday with President Bingu wa Mutharika asking buyers to offer better prices. ... “The buyers should realize that farmers can only continue growing tobacco if they are paid prices beyond the cost of production,” said Mutharika.
... Prices averaged $1.90 per kilogram(2.2 pounds), higher than the $1.88 received in 2009, with prices declining in the second half of the season because of delayed confirmation from the buying companies’ customers and increased production in Zimbabwe. Continued

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