Zimbabwe: 8000kg Tobacco Seed Sold So Far - TIMB

Source from:  The Herald  09/10/2012

Tobacco production in Zimbabwe is set to increase significantly next year as seed sufficient to cover 134 000 hectares has been sold while about 46 431 farmers have so far registered to grow the crop next season. Statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board show that 8 028 kilogrammes of seed had been sold to farmers. The seed bought so far is 24,3 percent more than the 6 459 kilogrammes sold during the same period last year. During the comparable period last year, 19 975 farmers had registered to grow tobacco. The deadline for registration of growers for marketing the crop has been set for October 30. The total seed sales and grower registration show that farmers are dedicated to produce more in the 2012/13 cropping season. As at September 5, more than 144 million kilogrammes of tobacco worth US$526 million had been sold with the contract system contributing the bulk of the deliveries. Though the country missed a production target of 150 million kilogrammes, tobacco farming is slowly rebounding after seeing years of decline. The 144 million kilogrammes sold this season is the highest since land reforms began over a decade ago. Of the 144 million kg total, 92 million kg were sold through contract sales, while the remainder was sold under the auction system. The average price per kg this year was US$3,66 compared to last year's US$2,77, TIMB said. Production has been rising since 2009, though it remains lower than the peak in 2000 of 236 million kg. Tobacco is one of Zimbabwe's major agricultural exports, accounting for 10, 7 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Major export markets for Zimbabwean tobacco include China, UK, South Africa, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius and Russia. Enditem