COMMODITIES: Malawi (MRB Oct 01 2001): Tobacco growing countries fight WHO.

The countries that rely heavily on tobacco for their revenues have repeated their antagonism to the World Health Organisation (WHO) which is spearheading an anti-smoking lobby.

This month the International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA), whose current Africa region chair is Malawi, opened its 16th annual general meeting in Malawi where they stressed they had no plans to halt production of the crop in the near future. ITGA represents more than 65 million growers in 22 member countries.

In the African region Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda and South Africa are among the chief growers and employ thousands in various sectors of the industry.

For Malawi alone tobacco accounts for up to 75 percent of foreign exchange revenue. Echoing concerns raised by ITGA president Marcello Quevedo Carillo, Malawi's President Bakili Muluzi, whose country is the largest producer of burley tobacco in the world, with the US as its largest export market, argued that countries will continue exports.

"We will continue promoting the production and marketing of tobacco until we find a sustainable and viable alternative," said Muluzi. The tobacco industry was ...