Zimbabwe: Zim Earns US$107 Million From Flue-Cured Tobacco

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) September 6, 2006 09/07/2006

ZIMBABWE has earned US$107 million from 53,4 million kilogrammes of flue-cured tobacco which had gone under the hammer by close of business on Monday, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has said. However, tobacco sold after the gazetted deadline of August 31 2006 was not eligible for the 80 percent support price paid to farmers who delivered the golden leaf to the auction floors on time. The 2006 tobacco selling season, which opened on April 25, has been extended to September 8, 2006 to accommodate those farmers who could not meet the original August 31 deadline due to fuel shortages and other challenges. "We had to extend the selling season because deliveries are still strong and by law farmers are not allowed to carry over stocks to the next season," explained TIMB technical services director Dr Andrew Matibiri. Traditionally, the tobacco selling season is followed by a mop-up sale during which farmers who fail to deliver their crop by the deadline are given a chance to dispose of their produce. TIMB will conduct the mop-up sales at the end at of this month. The mop-up sales normally last two weeks at most. The year's crop has been estimated at between 50 million and 60 million kg, about 15 percent down from last season's 74 million kg. Zimbabwe's tobacco is in demand internationally because of its special blending qualities. Enditem