By Patience Kapinda

Lilongwe, August 6, Mana: The Tobacco Commission of Malawi has launched a crackdown on the illicit practice of "nesting," where unscrupulous tobacco sellers conceal inferior products or objects within bundles to deceive buyers.

According to Tobacco Commission Public Relations Officer, Telephorus Chigwenembe, a staggering 5,080 bells containing nested tobacco were confiscated during the 2024 selling season.

"Nesting is a serious problem that compromises the integrity of our tobacco industry and hurts our economy. We will not tolerate it and are taking decisive action to eradicate it," Chigwenembe said.

The Commission has implemented stringent measures to combat nesting, including confiscating bells containing nested tobacco, re-handling tobacco at the grower's expense, and collaborating with law enforcement agencies to apprehend middlemen and vendors involved.

Christopher Saka, a re-handling expert, explained the process of cleaning and sorting nested tobacco bells: "We sort and remove all waste tobacco from mixed bales. Our checkers inspect each bale for unwanted materials like plastic, papers, stones, sand, and suckers. We use qualified measures, including grading, to sort out nested bales separately and accordingly."

Saka noted a significant increase in nesting cases this marketing season: "So far, this year's tendency has increased a lot."

Despite the challenges posed by nesting, the 2024 tobacco selling season yielded positive results, with 133 million kilograms of tobacco sold, valued at $396 million, and an average price of $2.98 per kilogram.

The Tobacco Commission's crackdown on nesting sends a strong message to perpetrators and reinforces the government's commitment to promoting a fair and transparent tobacco industry.