Kabwafu tobacco market revival on cards

Tobacco farmers and businesses in Mzimba could soon have easier access to a local market as government weighs reopening Kabwafu Satellite Tobacco Auction Floors, a facility that once supported livelihoods in the area.

The development follows calls by Mzimba West Member of Parliament Aeckim Kumwenda for the restoration of the Kabwafu Satellite Tobacco Auction Floors, which he says would help revive business activity in the area.

Agriculture Minister Roza Mbilizi told Parliament on Tuesday that her ministry, through the Tobacco Commission, will engage key stakeholders to determine whether the auction floors can reopen for the 2026/27 tobacco marketing season.

Kabwafu Satellite Tobacco Auction Floors were established to serve farmers growing flue-cured Virginia tobacco under the Limbe Leaf Tobacco Company scheme. The facility was later closed after declining tobacco volumes made its operations commercially unsustainable, with marketing activities consolidated at the Mzuzu Auction Floors.

Mbilizi said any decision to reopen Kabwafu must be commercially viable and supported by key stakeholders, including growers, tobacco buyers and AHL Tobacco Sales.

Kumwenda, who raised the issue in Parliament, is now urging the government to move quickly, arguing that the closure has affected not only tobacco farmers but also a community that had developed around the auction floors.

“We would love if they were considerate enough to engage the stakeholders quickly and reopen the auction floors this year,” Kumwenda said in an interview.

He said reopening the facility would help reclaim jobs that were lost following its closure, while also reducing the financial burden on farmers who currently have to travel to Mzuzu to sell their tobacco.

Kumwenda asked for the reopening of the facility

Kumwenda said many tobacco farmers in his constituency are women who face significant transport costs when travelling to Mzuzu, with a one-way trip costing more than K30,000, reducing the income they make from tobacco sales.

He further argued that restoring a nearby market could help curb tobacco smuggling into neighbouring Zambia, which he said is partly driven by the lack of a convenient local market for farmers.

Kumwenda said the government should therefore engage a wider range of tobacco industry stakeholders, including Limbe Leaf, Alliance One and Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which contract farmers in the area.

The MP said he was encouraged by the minister’s response in Parliament and hopes the stakeholder consultations will lead to the reopening of Kabwafu.

Kabwafu previously operated as one of Malawi’s satellite tobacco markets, alongside other satellite facilities, while the country’s major auction floors include Kanengo, Limbe, Mzuzu and Chinkhoma.