Following Admarc’s delay to buy, farmers may end up selling to unscrupulous buyers, as other private companies did not apply for a license. The Cotton Council of Malawi (CCM) has therefore been urged to revise certain terms in their contracts, to lure local buyers.

The cotton market was expected to produce 45,000 metric tonnes of cotton up from the 10,000 in the 2018/19 season, at a  minimum price of K389 per kg. The CEO of the African Institute for Corporate Citizenship (AICC) Felix Lombe, said that farmers are now dealing with vendors who buy at low prices averaging between K150 per kg and K250 per kg. “Unfortunately, Admarc does not have the financial capacity to buy it all as of today …. the delays of market actors is likely to leave farmers, government and CCM on the losing end considering the investment made this far,” Lombe said.

On the other hand, the coronavirus pandemic has also been attributed to impact the cotton market in general, as so far only three buyers have been licensed to buy cotton from CCM, as the council expects more buyers to come in and stabilise the situation.