Zimbabwe Earns $40 Million From Tobacco

Source from:  angolapress-angop.ao Harare, Zimbabwe, 06/13 06/14/2007

Zimbabwe has earned US$40.5 million from tobacco exports in the last two months, a marketing agency said Tuesday. The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) said in a statement to the media that a total of 19 million kilogrammes of the crop had been sold since tobacco auctions began in April. It said both the earnings and volumes in the period were higher than the same time last year, when Zimbabwe exported 9.9 million kilogrammes of tobacco worth US$18 million. TIMB said average prices this year were also higher than last year, contributing to the increased earnings. In 2006, tobacco prices averaged US$1.80 per kilogramme in the first two months of trading, compared to US$2.13 this year. Until the country`s controversial land reforms seven years ago, Zimbabwe was one of the biggest tobacco growers in the world, and the crop was its main export. But production and quality have sharply fallen since white farmers were driven off their farms, to pave way for the resettlement of blacks, under the land reforms. Officials say an estimated 80 million kilogrammes of tobacco will be marketed this year. Enditem