During the start of the 2019 Tobacco Industry Conference,  Minister of Agriculture and Water Development, Kondwani Nankhumwa, has said the US Government has not imposed a ban on the importation of tobacco from Malawi. According to Nankhumwa, Malawi can still send and is still sending tobacco to the US but that there are controlled border posts set to screen the tobacco from Malawi.

“There is nothing to worry about. We are continuing to export tobacco to [United States of] America but what we are talking about are just compliance issues which we are saying we are still discussing.”

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a statement in which it announced halting tobacco imports from the country, but Nankhumwa assured stakeholders that the government is reviewing the tenancy system which is a bone of contention but also perceived to be catalyst to child and forced labour.

On the other hand, the Reserve Bank of Malawi has acknowledged that the poor performance for the 2019 tobacco season will negatively impact the country’s Terms of Trade (TOT) —the ratio of export prices to import prices-growth to be around neutral position in the ‘forecast horizon’.