Tanzania: Farmers Grapple With Low Prices

tobacoo

Following a drop in tobacco prices in the world market, firms buying the crop in Chunya District, Mbeya Region, have as well reduced the quantity of tobacco they buy from farmers.

During this year's season, more than 3.2 million kilos of tobacco are still in the farmers' hands because the firms have failed to purchase tobacco that they even don't know to who they can sell to.

Chunya Tobacco Cooperative Union (Chutcu) Manager Juma Shinshi said last Friday that farmers had produced 14.3 million kilos of tobacco this year, but only 11.8 million kilos were bought due to agreements with the firms purchasing the crop.

He added that this was contrary to the 2015/16 season during which the farmers signed agreements to produce 11 million kilos of tobacco that was all bought.

Mr Juma this said this recently during a tobacco stakeholders' meeting. The meeting, which took place in Lupa Tingatinga in Chunya District, was also attended by farmers, buyers and Mbeya Regional Commissioner Amos Makalla.

Mr Shinshi noted that Premium Active Tanzania (PAT) this year entered into an agreement to purchase 9.6 million kilos of tobacco and Tanzania Leaf Tobacco- Chunya (TLTC) signed an agreement to purchase 2.2 million kilos of the crop due to a highly volatile situation tobacco market.

PAT Manager Longton Lumambo explained that even their top foreign buyers had stopped purchasing the crop in the country due to two major reasons, including the quality of tobacco as a result of the method used to dry it up and an ongoing campaign that "cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health," saying this had also reduced the number of cigarette smokers.

A tobacco farmer from Mafyeko Primary Cooperative Society, Mr Amin Azizi, said tobacco farmers faced many challenges, including being limited to cultivating the crop and the government's indicative price not being followed by buyers, who, instead, bought the crop at lower prices.

Speaking to tobacco stakeholders during the meeting, Mr Makalla said the government's campaign against cigarette smoking and its effects had greatly contributed to the highly volatile tobacco market. "So, what is the fate of these 3.2 million kilos of tobacco that have no buyers? I call upon leaders of primary cooperative societies and buyers to sit down together and discuss what you can do, including looking for other buyers to purchase the crop," he said.