Zimbabwe: Tobacco Sales Up 67 Percent

Source from:  The Herald 05/10/2010

Harare - TOBACCO sales are up 67 percent this selling season than they were during the same period last year. Though the season is still in its infancy with nearly half the crop still in the fields or being graded, farmers have been flocking to the auction floors. Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chief executive officer Dr Andrew Matibiri this week described the season as "promising". "There is great improvement in the delivery and presentation of the crop and this year's crop wastage has come down as compared to the same time last year. "Even the number of rejected bales is lower than that of last year, thus showing that the presentation of the crop is much better," he said Crop wastage this year stands at eight percent compared to nine percent in 2009. The average price for the tobacco stands at US$3,10 per kg against last year's US$2,84 per kg. However, some farmers were still crying foul over what they said were unfair prices due to re-classification of their crop. Mr Tendai Maronga from Guruve said he sold eight bales of tobacco for a song. He got US$3,80 for his highest grade and US$2,10 for the lowest. He also accused TIMB of not doing enough to promote farmers' interests. "They should take our needs into consideration as they are leaving us at the mercy of unscrupulous middlemen. "It's worrying when a farmer with more than five bales of tobacco fails to reach the US$1 000 mark," the farmer said. A total of 77 million kg of Virginia tobacco is expected to go under the hammer this season. Enditem