Zimbabwe: Tobacco Sales Bring in US$500 Million

Source from:  New Zimbabwe 08/29/2012

SOME US$500 million worth of tobacco was sold in the 2011-2012 marketing season, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) said Monday. Statistics released by TIMB showed that the country earned US$525 million for 144 million kgs of tobacco during the season, a 46 percent increase from last year's US$360 million. Overall output missed the 150 million kgs production target for the just ended season but tobacco farming continues to rebound after years of decline. This season's 144 million kgs is the highest production achieved since land was redistributed to indigenous Zimbabweans over a decade ago. Of the total, 52 million kgs were sold through auction and the remainder via a contract system. TIMB said the average price per kg this year was US$3.66 compared to US$2.77 last year. Tobacco is one of Zimbabwe's major agricultural exports and accounts for 10.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Major export destinations include China, United Kingdom, South Africa, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius and Russia. Enditem