Zimbabwe Rakes in Over US$40 Million From Tobacco Sales

Source from:  english.people.com.cn Xinhua  06/07/2007

Zimbabwe has raked in 40.5 million U. S. dollars from the sale of tobacco since the auction floors opened in April, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board said on Tuesday. The statistics from the board indicate that some 19 million kilograms of tobacco were sold at an average price of 2.13 dollars per kg as of Monday this week. This is compared to some 9.9 million kg that were sold at an average price of 1.8 dollars per kg during the same period last year. The country is expected to sell an estimated 80 million kg of tobacco this year, up from the 55 million kg last year. The crop is being sold through the traditional auction system and contract system, which was introduced a few years ago and is already proving popular with growers. Enditem