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At the highest level, the Commission is driven by a Board of Commissioners which provides guidance on strategic matters.
TOBACCO SELLING SEASON CLOSING OCTOBER 24
The 2025 tobacco selling season is set to close on October 24 after 29 weeks of trading in a year with the highest production in 14 years. Limbe Floors in the southern region already closed on 8th August. However, the closure of Lilongwe, Chinkhoma and Mzuzu Floors...
Government praises Commission’s performance
Government, Tobacco Commission shareholder, has praised the regulator for its excellent performance as reflected in the 2024/2025 surplus that resulted in a historic K1.5 billion payout in dividends. Speaking after receiving a cheque from the Commission in Lilongwe on...
Tobacco selling season extended
The Tobacco Commission on Friday extended the 2025 tobacco selling season to 12th September to allow farmers to sell all their crop. Trading was due to close on 29th August. Chinkhoma and Lilongwe markets will now close on 5th September, 2025 while sales at Mzuzu...
Tobacco sales at Chinkhoma and Lilongwe Floors extended
The Tobacco Commission on Friday extended the 2025 selling period for Chinkhoma and Lilongwe Floors. Sales at Chinkhoma and Lilongwe Floors were due to close on 15th and 20th August, respectively. With the extension, Chinkhoma will now close on 22nd August and...
2025 selling season closing
The 2025 tobacco selling season will close on 29th August after 21 weeks of trading. The closure has been scheduled in phases. Limbe Floors closed on Friday, August 8. Chinkhoma and Lilongwe will follow on 15th and 20th August, respectively. Mzuzu Floors, the last,...
More tobacco, more revenue in 2025
The 2025 tobacco selling season will by far outperform 2024 sales in terms of volume and revenue, an analysis of the latest sales report shows. During last year's selling season which lasted 16 weeks, 133 million kilogrammes of tobacco was sold at an average price of...
Commission attends growers’ indaba
The Tobacco Commission on Thursday joined TAMA Farmers Trust at its 37th annual congress at Sogecoa Golden Peacock Hotel in the capital, Lilongwe. TAMA Farmers Trust is one of Malawi's registered tobacco grower associations. The annual congress drew participants from...
TC confiscates tobacco in anti-smuggling operation
In a joint operation with the Malawi Police Service, the Tobacco Commission has confiscated 7, 900 kilogrammes of tobacco in an operation aimed at arresting illegal vending and cross border trade. The confiscated tobacco roughly equals 79 bales of the crop. Of the...
Commission confiscates nested tobacco bales
The Tobacco Commission confiscated more than 170 nested tobacco bales in the first three weeks of sales. Nesting is the concealment of stems, scraps, loose leaf or any object within a bale to deceive a buyer on quality or quantity. Tobacco Commission spokesman...
Tobacco Selling Season takes off
State President Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera on Wednesday opened the 2025 tobacco selling season at Kanengo in Lilongwe. Speaking to the media after witnessing sales in the floors, President Chakwera said it was encouraging to see tobacco being bought way above set...
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT
Our Executive Management comprises the following:
Chief Executive Officer
Mr George Chinkhandwe
Director of Technical Services
Mr Evans Chilumpha
Director of Human Resources & Administration/Acting Chief Executive Officer
Mr Chimwemwe Luhanga
Director of Finance
Brief History Of Tobacco Farming In Malawi
Tobacco was introduced in Malawi (then Nyasaland) in 1889 by David Buchanan. The first export was made in 1893 where tobacco weighing 40 pounds was sold at an auction in London. Six years later, 2,240 pounds of tobacco was exported. Notable growers then were Messrs Hynde and Stark among others (1899).
From 1906 to 1925, the industry expanded rapidly with the coming in of A.F Barron, Wallace and later Conforzi. The first two bought their respective estates in Zomba and later expanded their operations to the central region where they established farms at Mbabvi and Lingadzi. Here, they experimented with the tenancy system that helped to expand tobacco farming among natives.
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The rapid expansion led to over production and deteriorating quality of the leaf. Authorities and all stakeholders saw the need to establish laws to govern and regulate the industry. Discussions on the same started in 1924 and the first new law called Tobacco Ordinance was enacted in 1926.
The tobacco crisis of 1930s that saw overproduction of the crop and a sharp drop in prices prompted authorities to form the Tobacco Marketing Ordinance (1937) that succeeded the Tobacco Ordinance. Later, in 1938, the Tobacco Control Board was formed and was followed by Auction Nyasaland Limited.