LEAF NEWS
Photo: TAMA Trust
Abiel Masache Kalima Banda (right) visits a tobacco farmer in southern Malawi.
MALAWI lilongwe—The embattled Malawian tobacco industry began to take steps over the winter to regain its U.S. burley market. Tobacco from Malawi, the world’s leading exporter of burley, has been banned from the United States for alleged illegal labor practices. If this ban stays in effect, the result could be significant: Last year, the U.S. imported 6.8 million kilos of burley from Malawi. A federal commissioner for U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection, Brenda Smith, was invited to Malawi over the winter to review the situation and communicate—if she can—what farmers here can do to lift the proscriptions. The growers association, meanwhile,
Photo: TAMA Trust
Farmers Fight to Get Back U.S. Market
Buyers inspect tobacco before a sale in the city of Mzuzu in Malawi.
has “rebranded” itself in hopes of documenting its commitment to reform. Formerly known as the Tobacco Association of Malawi (TAMA), the organi-
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zation is now known as “TAMA Farmers Trust.” The official launch of the rebranding took place on December 19 2019 at its head office in Lilongwe.
