The Government of Malawi may have to find other means of
maintain the in-flow of foreign currency as the country’s principal foreign
exchange earner, tobacco is in the balance due to the latest set of
recommendations by World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on
Tobacco Control (FCTC)
The FCTC have recommended a ban on ingredients used in
manufacturing tobacco products. If implemented, the recommendations could
eliminate traditional blended cigarettes, which accounts for approximately half
of the global market. Tobacco contributes to nearly 70 per cent of Malawi
foreign exchange and the industry is the second largest employer in the
country, only second to the government.
The FCTC’s decision has proved to be a controversial one and
it has been criticised by International Tobacco Growers Association’s (ITGA) Chief
Executive Officer, António Abruhosa who has called the recommendation a
bureaucratic decision made by people who know nothing about tobacco growing.
“These recommendations have been made by bureaucrats, mostly
from wealthy countries who know nothing about tobacco growing. Their
recommendations could wipe out the livelihoods of millions of tobacco growers
all over the world.” He said
Abrunhosa added: “For some inexplicable reason, tobacco
growers, the very people most affected by the guidelines, are officially
excluded from any discussions. Even ministries of agriculture or economy seem
unaware of the discussions taking place within the FCTC. There doesn’t seem to
be any balanced form of representation whatsoever.”
ITGA has also pointed out that tobacco farming has been
critical for the economy in these countries and it is one of the few
agricultural activities that withstood the recent global economic crisis.
“The latest guidelines drafted by bureaucrats in Geneva
threaten to undo that for no clear benefit… these guidelines are just plain
wrong whichever way you look at them. Nobody has explained to me how banning
some cigarette products and ignoring others will have any benefit for people’s
health,” said Roger Quarles, President of the ITGA.
Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania are other members of the
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) that would also be affected by the
proposals.
Meanwhile, ITGA has called on governments all over the world
to support tobacco growers by adopting “a common sense approach and discarding
these irrational and potentially economically devastating guidelines.”
ITGA represents more than thirty million tobacco growers
across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.
Meanwhile, there has not been a reaction from Malawi
government but the recent announcement by Malawi’s president, Bingu wa
Muntharika, who also heads the country’s minister agriculture, that Malawi was
to build a third sugar factory in the country’s central region district of Salima
is certainly welcome as the factory would absorb a sizeable workforce and could
encourage other source of export product.