Malawi's tobacco production for the current growing season is projected to reach 214 million kilogrammes, exceeding the initial buyer demand forecast of 170 million kilogrammes by 20.5 percent, according to Nation Online. Tobacco Commission board chairperson Reverend Timothy Nyasulu expressed concern over the overproduction and stated that the regulator will strengthen oversight to ensure farmers adhere to their quotas. Market participants warned that excess volumes could negatively impact leaf prices at the auction floors, while Tama Farmers Trust president Abiel Kalima-Banda cautioned that low-grade tobacco would struggle at market due to heavy rains.
In the agricultural inputs sector, the Fertiliser Association of Malawi has warned of a significant price hike due to shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Nation Online reports. International prices for nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers have surged, which could push local retail prices from the current K180,000 per 50-kilogramme bag to over K200,000. The geopolitical conflict has also forced a new local fertiliser manufacturing plant in Dowa District, owned by businessperson Napoleon Dzombe, to suspend its planned April launch because essential raw materials are stuck in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme urgently needs $13.3 million to sustain its food security operations in Malawi between March and August 2026, ReliefWeb reports. The agency assisted 1.23 million people with food and cash transfers in February under the Lean Season Food Insecurity Response Programme. Although the designated food gap period was initially expected to end in March, distributions will extend further into the year due to delays in starting the relief response.