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Malawi sees falling tobacco sales, revenue

Xinhua, August 31, 2016 Adjust font size:

Tobacco sales for 2016 in Malawi have dropped by 31 percent in revenue realized and 22 percent in volumes sold so far, an Auction Holdings Limited (AHL) Group official said on Tuesday.

Mark Ndipita, Corporate Affairs Manager for AHL Goup, said as of August 19, the country had sold close to 130 million kilograms of tobacco of all types at an average price of 1.52 U.S. dollars per kilogram.

Over the same period in 2015, the country had sold 165.7 million kilograms of tobacco at an average price of 1.79 U.S. dollars per kilogram, raking in 296.1 million dollars.

"In terms of revenue realized compared to last year after 19 weeks of sale, there is a decrease of about 31 percent, and in terms of volumes in kilograms there is a decrease of 22 percent of tobacco sold," explained Ndipita.

"The decrease in revenue realized and volumes sold when compared to last year can be attributed to low prices, high no-sale rejection rates and reduced competition on the auction system," he added.

Tobacco is Malawi's chief foreign exchange earner followed by sugar, and tea. As of 2010, the southern African country was the world's largest producer of burley tobacco. Endit