Tobacco remains Malawi’s income export crop as it accounts for 14 % of the country Growth Domestic Products and generates about US$ 1billion yearly with the tangible selling season. So, far Malawi has not identified other crop to replace tobacco or an alternative in response to the global campaign against smoking which Malawi and other developing countries including Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe are the major victims of this campaign.
In responding to this campaign, other developed nations where tobacco market is, have started already putting in place policies and laws on the same, recently being France proposed plain packaging of tobacco products whose impact will be catastrophic to these nation who rely on the crop for economic growth.
Apart from the ban affecting countries’ economy, farmers will also be affected greatly, if indeed the ban is excused as it provides source of income for their families. This is the reason, Tobacco Association of Malawi (TAMA) with other Eastern and Central African counties’ farmers bodies are totally against the global campaign against tobacco. Therefore, TAMA is appealing the French government to seriously consider reverting the proposal as this will hurt many poor farmers who rely on tobacco farming, processing among others.
The Maravi Post’s reporter, Lloyd M’bwana caught up with Graham Kunimba, Tobacco Association of Malawi (TAMA), Chief Executive Officer, on what implication does the proposal of having a law plain packaging of tobacco by the French government going to have on Malawi economy and tobacco farmers’ future.
1. What is the value of tobacco for Malawi?
Tobacco is a most important crop for Malawi. It represents the biggest export crop in terms of value, with an income for the country of over US$ 360 million. It counts for approximately 14% of our GDP. In addition tobacco growing provides a good livelihood for at least 350,000 farmers and their families, 70,000 hired labourers and employs bout 10,000 in leaf processing factories and employs on full establishment in tobacco related institutions well over 10% of the Malawi’s population pegged at 15million people.
The factory workers are normally people from the rural areas who move to town and work in a tobacco leaf processing factory for 6-8months such that at the end of the rain season they are deprived of any other occupation in agriculture at home due to the lack of proper irrigation systems in our country. A very large portion of our leaf tobacco is exported to Europe and processed into cigarettes for the French market.
2. Is the protection of public health a serious concern or just a farce?
The French Government is currently discussing the introduction of plain packaging for tobacco products as part of some measures to improve public health. But the question is: why the target is on tobacco products and not on other products which may have a negative impact on health including sugar? This is not done in a good faith but to punish poor countries like Malawi who rely on Tobacco for its economic growth.
3. What are the fears of the Malawian tobacco farmers?
Let’s look at the situation from the practical point of view. We, the tobacco growers, are afraid that such a measure will ultimately lead to a depreciation of leaf tobacco and to the increase of illicit trade. Plain packaging devalues the product and is easy to copy; the manufacturers of tobacco products will no longer have interest in supplying a product which has a brand value. This will inevitably lead to the use of cheaper tobacco and drive down the price of leaf tobacco.
In the case of illicit trade, international leaf merchant companies such as those operating here have systems in place which prevent them from dealing with illegal cigarette makers and we, the tobacco growers, will suffer a request of demand. In the end, the people who suffer most from this situation are the tobacco farmers who support a very large part of Malawi’s agricultural production.
4. What do the Malawi farmers have to say to the French Government?
What we cannot understand is the approach of the French government to public health. If we look at health issues, the World Health Organization says that there are avoidable causes of bad health. On top of the list, there are smoking and alcohol consumption The French Government has assessed the social impact of tobacco and alcohol and has come to the conclusion that alcohol puts a burden on society which is nearly the same as that of tobacco. Alcohol consumption comes in three forms: wine (made from grapes), beer (made from barley) and strong spirits with alcohol content normally higher than 15% (normally made from barley or distilled from the dregs of wine production).
5. What does it mean in practice for France?
In France grapes represent one of the major crops. In terms of money, the export value of French wine is approximately US$ 10 billion, the export value of French spirits is approximately US$ 4.5 billion and the export value of French beer is approximately US$ 400 million. Doing the sums calculations, the export value of French alcohol is 41 times higher than the export value of Malawian tobacco. In terms of concerns for public health this does not seem to make much sense.
To make things even more absurd, the alcohol producers in France and the rest of the world, are happy and are free to put their beautiful logos on their bottles and advertise to attract more customers, but tobacco products are threatened everywhere to lose their logos and will become value less .Is there some logic in this? We are judged UN fairly.
6. Why should alcohol be treated in a different way from tobacco when the health concerns are even higher?
This really seems a very strange set of things. How should the French Government think if it had an objective approach to public health? We, as farmers cannot teach the Government about health, but we want to invite them to on this matter for possible dialogue. Considering the export value and the level of employment of the alcohol value chain in France, how would the French Government react if other countries would impose the same type of legislation on such important French products, devaluing their brands and bringing reduced revenues to its farmers?
Proposing to adopt plain packaging for alcohol products this time and here won’t be a form of retaliation against the French government, but only a way to make France realize how a simple act can destroy the livelihood of a very large slice of domestic economy. Countries which have adopted plain packaging of tobacco products so far which includes Australia, Ireland and the UK, are ironically all countries where alcohol represents one of the top three products of their agricultural exports and where no tobacco is grown.
7. What is the Malawian farmers’ message to the French Government?
We appeal to the French Government to reconsider its proposal to impose plain packaging to tobacco products. Plain packaging of tobacco products will affect the economic sustainability of our major export crop and it will make useless the Malawian farmers’ efforts to produce a sustainable crop.
