Tag: malawi

  • Malawi Gears up for Cannabis Production and Processing

    Malawi Gears up for Cannabis Production and Processing

    Malawians are hoping that hemp earnings will help offset declining tobacco revenues.
    (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)

    Malawi is ready to start commercial production and processing of cannabis for medicinal and industrial use, reports Reuters, citing the country’s newly created Cannabis Regulatory Authority.

    In February, Malawi’s parliament passed a bill that makes it legal to cultivate and process cannabis for medicines and hemp fiber used in industry but stops short of decriminalizing recreational use.

    The board chair of Malawi’s regulator, Boniface Kadzamira, said his board had received more than 100 applications for licensing which were under review.

    The license fees will range from $100 to $10,000 a year for the cultivation, selling, storage, distribution of industrial and medicinal hemp.

    Kadzamira believes hemp has the potential to surpass earnings from tobacco, currently the country’s main export crop.

    Malawi’s earnings from tobacco have fallen dramatically over the years in part due to declining demand and poor weather.

    During the 2020 season, Malawi’s tobacco output fell by 31.3 percent, resulting in a 26.4 percent decline in the country’s overall tobacco revenues.

    Due to the disappointing earnings, the country’s tobacco auctioneer, Auction Holdings, has failed to pay salaries for the last two months.

  • Malawi Takes Heart From IQOS Approval

    Malawi Takes Heart From IQOS Approval

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Tobacco growers in Malawi are hoping that recent marketing orders by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Philip Morris International’s (PMI) IQOS tobacco-heating device will translate into greater demand for their leaf, according to an article in The Nyasa Times.
     
    One of the world’s leading producers of burley tobacco, Malawi has seen demand for its primary export drop in recent years due to growing health awareness and anti-smoking measures worldwide.
     
    In 2019, Malawi realized only about $232 million after selling 160 million kg of all types of tobacco. By comparison, the country earned $361 million from the sale of 192 million kg in 2014.
     
    On July 7, the FDA issued exposure modification orders to PMI, allowing the company tell consumers that IQOS produces fewer harmful and potentially harmful chemicals than combustible cigarettes. Earlier, the agency approved PMI’s premarket tobacco product application, allowing PMI to sell IQOS in the U.S.
     
    The marketing orders are expected to boost demand for IQOS.
     
    Tobacco remains Malawi’s top foreign exchange earner.