Sales Start After Growers Promised Realistic Returns

Source from:  tobaccoreporter.com Zimbabwe, Thursday, April 26, 2007 04/28/2007

Zimbabwe's delayed tobacco auction sales started on Tuesday, but only after Agriculture Minister, Rugare Gumbo, Central Bank governor, Gideon Gono, and acting finance minister, Patrick Chinamasa, went to plead with growers, according to local reports. Sales were scheduled to start at 07.30 hours local time, but got going only at 15.00 hours after growers were told that they would earn realistic returns in Zimbabwe dollars and retain 20 per cent of their foreign currency earnings. Gono said that the Central Bank would announce "something special" within the next seven days. One report said that the first bale sold for US$2.95 per kg. Enditem