Zimbabwe Targets US$100m From Tobacco

Source from:  Harare, Zimbabwe, 08/25 08/28/2006

Zimbabwe expects to earn about US$100 million from tobacco exports this year, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) said here Thursday. It said the country had so far earned US$84.3 million from the crop, which was Zimbabwe`s top export until five years ago when the government acquired the farms of white farmers, who were the main tobacco growers, to resettle landless peasants. Since the controversial farm seizures, tobacco production has declined sharply in the country, where the crop`s marketing season, which opened in April is expected to close at the end of this month. TIMB said firmer prices, averaging US$2.14 per kilogramme compared to last year`s US$1.93, had raised export earnings this year, with 42 million kilogrammes of tobacco already exported, and about 10 million kilogrammes still to be marketed. Enditem