Chinkhoma auction floors has opened today with tobacco authorities expressing optimism on the leaf fetching good prices.
The opening of Chinkhoma market comes four weeks after the official opening of this year’s tobacco market season by state President Lazarus Chakwera at Kanengo auction floors in Lilongwe.
However, in the first weeks the market was faced with challenges such as low volumes of tobacco coming to the floors which forced tobacco authorities to reduce the number of days for opening the Lilongwe market.
Speaking to MIJ Online, Spokesperson for Tobacco Commission, Telephorus Chigwenembe-said the Chinkhoma market has opened on a good note as out of the 741,000 bales that were brought to the market were sold with just one bale rejected.
Chigwenembe said so far the tobacco market season is progressing well, despite low volumes registered in the first weeks, as currently the volumes have picked up.
He added that the nation has sold over 1.6 million kilograms of tobacco, realizing over 2.8 million US Dollars at an average price of 1 dollar 75 cents after four weeks of sales.