Malawi govt putting in place policies to attract tobacco cigarette manufacturing companies

President Joyce Banda says her government is putting in place deliberate policies to attract tobacco cigarette manufacturing companies as a way of boosting the market for the crop.

The President said by adding value to the leaf, Malawi would woo both the indigenous and international buyers thereby increasing demand for the county’s major forex earner.

She said government is currently in the process of negotiating with some cigarette manufacturing companies to come and start their operations.

Banda then advised farmers to improve on their production in readiness for what she called a booming market.

On the Anti- Smoking campaign being championed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the President said she was aware of the restrictions and that government was working on various modalities.

She disclosed that government would further base the decisions on the crop market demand.

Meanwhile, Banda has appealed to farmers in the country to diversify crop production to maximize their profits.