Zimbabwe: Timb Assures Farmers Enough Cash

Source from:  The Herald 02/14/2012

THE Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has assured farmers of enough cash to pay for tobacco this marketing season. Tobacco auction floors open on Wednesday. TIMB chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri said the money would be coming from offshore accounts so the liquidity crisis the country was facing would not affect tobacco marketing. "Buyers are not allowed to borrow from local banks according to the exchange regulations of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, so they have to bring their own money," he said. "Payments will also be done in line with RBZ regulations stipulating that farmers get a maximum cash payment of US$10 000 on the spot for deliveries worth more than that amount and the rest will be deposited into their bank accounts." Dr Matibiri said it was only possible for farmers to get more than US$10 000 if prior arrangements were made with the bank in consultation with the RBZ. He said TIMB advised buyers to be adequately prepared for the season, a requirement they had all complied with. The buyers, he said, were urged to offer farmers good prices, especially given that floods had grossly affected the production capacity of Brazil and the United States, two of the world's biggest producers of the golden leaf. "Brazil is estimated to have lost more than 150 million kilogrammes of tobacco while the USA has reportedly lost 50 million kilogrammes to floods damage, which leaves a huge deficit on the global tobacco market," said Dr Matibiri. "Local farmers should benefit from this development that is naturally expected to see prices firming." Dr Matibiri castigated buyers who created false shortages of funds with the intention of reducing prices. He dismissed reports that the opening of the tobacco auction floors had been postponed to February 25. Four auction floors will be open on the first day of the marketing season unlike last season when only one was operating. Boka Tobacco Floors, Tobacco Sales Floor, Millennium Tobacco Floors and newcomers Premier Tobacco Auction Floors are all expected to receive farmers on Wednesday. The four floors have a combined selling capacity of 36 000 bales per day and also have the capacity to sell all the tobacco produced this year in 50 days if all growers meet the booking requirements to avoid unnecessary delays. Dr Matibiri said TIMB assessed the readiness of the auction floors and was satisfied with their preparedness. At least 150 million kilogrammes of tobacco are expected to go under the hammer this season. Dr Matibiri said the TIMB had introduced a stop-order system to cater for farmers failing to register with the board. Farmers will be able to book their crop at the tobacco auction floors. Some farmers have indicated that they will only start selling their crop in March as they are still harvesting in the wake of recurrent power cuts that made curing difficult. "Some of us will not be going to the floors this Wednesday. We are still harvesting and curing," said the manager at Albion Farm in Beatrice Mr Wellington Chatikobo. Enditem