Zimbabwe Tobacco Farmers Ready to Go

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 08/20/2010

Tobacco-seed sales in Zimbabwe up to August 1 were 66 per cent higher than those of the same period of last year, according to a Bloomberg story quoting figures from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board. The board's CEO, Andrew Matibiri, was quoted as saying that the more-than 580,000 g of seed sold would be enough to plant nearly 97,000 hectares; so he estimated the 2010-2011 crop at about 150 million kg. This season, the crop is heading towards 115 million kg, well up on the target of 77 million kg. Meanwhile, a story in News Today said that small-scale tobacco growers had contributed 42 per cent of the tobacco sold in Zimbabwe this season. By Tuesday, 113 million kg had been sold for US$331 million and Matibiri was quoted as saying that it was not possible yet to talk about closing the sales because deliveries were still being made. The deliveries were twice the figure of last year, he added, and the tobacco was of good quality. Enditem