Zimbabwe: Two New Players Apply to Set Up Tobacco Action Floors

Source from:  The Herald 05/16/2011

Two new players have applied to set up tobacco auction floors in the capital, a move that will bring to five the number of auctioneers. This is expected to end the congestion that has characterised the selling seasons. Currently, three companies namely Tobacco Sales Floors (TSF), Boka and Millennium are conducting the auction business. Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri said two licence applications were being considered. "I can confirm that two applications have been submitted," he said while refusing to disclose names of the companies although it is widely believed to be Saltlakes owned by former sports personality Temba Mliswa and Premier Tobacco Auction Floors. "The applications are being considered," he said. Meanwhile, Dr Matibiri said deliveries of tobacco to the three auction floors had dwindled over the past few days. "Since the beginning of the week, deliveries have gone down a bit, and ultimately there is no congestion at all the three auction floors," he said. Dr Matibiri said the decline in deliveries was normal as farmers returned to their farms to grade more tobacco before bringing it for sale. He said farmers also rushed to sell some of their crop during the opening days of sales. This is as a result of being hard pressed for cash to pay of costs such as wages and other debts incurred during the farming season. There have been concerns at the chaos and congestion at auction floors that saw farmers spending long periods camped at the premises as they waited for an opportunity to sell their crop. The introduction of the pre-booking system did not change the situation as farmers still complained that it was not working. Enditem