JTI Leaf Malawi, has paid K581, 250,000 to 8,000 to its tobacco growers to cushion them from possible effects of the Covid pandemic, as the company’s  Corporate Affairs and Communications Director Limbani Kakhome described the sum as the firm’s help for growers to meet production demand to come up with top quality leaf amidst the pandemic.

“We have a cordial relationship with our growers. As such, we know that, around this time, almost every grower does not have enough money to finance some of the basic necessities at the household and farm level and this is even more compounded now by Covid.” said Kakhome. “Apart from growing tobacco, most of these growers also run small businesses and, just as every sector, these small businesses have been affected by this pandemic,”.

A fortnight ago, Agriculture Minister Lobin Lowe signed Grade Minimum Price agreements with 9 tobacco-buying companies, as the terms stipulated that the buying companies should  not offer prices below the minimum set prices. The Minister emphasized that the law of supply states that when the quantity supplied is lower than the demand, the price should go up as there will be a scramble for the commodity.  “We, therefore, expect no excuses for lower tobacco prices this time around,” Lowe said to representatives of the companies.