Over 290 million kgs of tobacco go under the hammer

A TOTAL of 290,4 million kilogrammes of tobacco have gone under the hammer since the start of the selling season raking in US$880 million compared to US$605 million in the corresponding period last year.

According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), during the same period last year 198,3 million kg were sold at the auction floors.

The latest statistics indicate that 270,5 million kg have so far been sold through the contract arrangement while 19,9 million kgs have come through the auction arrangement.

The average price was at US$3,03 per kg compared to US$3,05 during the same period last year.

Tobacco farmers retain 85 percent in forex while the balance is paid in Zimbabwe dollars.

The increase in foreign currency retention by the tobacco growers is part of a broader strategy by the Government to ramp up output to a national target of 300 million kg by 2025.

This is key in the broader national strategy of an upper middle-income economy by 2030.

Last year, tobacco growers were paid 75 percent in forex while the balance was in local currency.

Through the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, Zimbabwe aims to build the industry into a US$5 billion economy by 2025.

Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s agricultural major foreign currency earner after raking US$800 million the whole of 2021.

The output has grown from 48 million kg in 2008 to over 212 million last year, and the bulk of the crop is produced by small-scale farmers.

At present, only 18 percent of the crop is grown under irrigation, and the intention is to expand this to at least 40 percent.-businessweekly