Smallholder
tea farmers have expressed concern over persistent low tea prices on the market,
a development slashing profits for smallholder tea farmers in the country.
The
remarks come as the country on Thursday June 18th, 2026 conducted
the 60th anniversary of the Tea Research Foundation of Central Africa (TRFCA),
hosted at Mimosa in Mulanje to celebrate decades of scientific innovation while
empowering local smallholder farmers to build a climate-resilient and globally
competitive tea industry.
One
of the smallholder tea farmers who is also the chairperson for Sukambizi
Association Trust which sells tea to Lujeri Tea Estate in Mulanje, Edison
Maotchedwe says tea farmers continue registering low tea prices on the market
compared to tea production costs incurred every year.
“Despite
prolonged climate change that has affected tea production, we are still selling
tea at K298 per kilogram,” Maotchedwe highlighted.
“The
price leaves a narrow margin compared to production costs, with one tea
seedling costing K200,” He added.
According
to ETP, one of the tea global membership organization, Malawi has at least
27,000 smallholder tea farmers contributing to around 10% of the total
country’s tea production with private estates dominating majority arable land and
contributing million volumes of tea every year.
However,
researches have revealed lack of having own processing
factories, continue forcing smallholder tea farmers to rely entirely on private
estates to purchase and process their yield.
But speaking in a separate interview, one of the crop Chief
Research Scientist in the country Dr. Nicholas Mphangwe said Malawi tea remains
competitive on the global market, but suggests the need for increased
productivity to meet growing demand and sustain the industry's performance.
“Our
tea is very competitive on the market and we have even seen some farming
equipment’s which are tolerant to various stresses shocking tea production.
This means they are climate smart and can make the farming resilient,” Mphangwe
Said.
Mphangwe
urged smallholder tea farmers to adopt improved, climate-resilient tea
varieties that resist diseases and pests, to improve tea quality on the market
for enhanced profits.
Malawi
is the second largest tea producer and exporter in Africa with Kenya topping
the list. Nearly 80% of Malawi’s tea (approximately 45 million kilograms) is
exported, making the sector a second vital source of foreign exchange to
Tobacco.
