Zimbabwe: Timb Licences 20 Tobacco Buyers

Source from:  The Herald  02/12/2014

THE Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has licenced 20 Class A buyers ahead of the start of the 2013 tobacco marketing season on Wednesday next week. At least 16 Class a buyers were licenced last year. TIMB chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri said while they had issued licences to Class A buyers there was no room for Class B buyers.

"There will be no Class B buyer, they remain suspended again this season," he said.

The marketing season will start with individual sales on Wednesday while contract sales will start a day later.

Only three floors - Tobacco Sales Floor Limited, Boka Tobacco Auction Floor and Premier Tobacco Auction Floors - have been licensed to buy tobacco from farmers.

Dr Matibiri said deliveries of tobacco to the three floors are expected to start on Wednesday following the opening of the sales office last Wednesday.

Dr Matibiri said they had made all the necessary preparations ahead of the opening.

Dr Matibiri said they were expecting a good crop this year although he could not discuss the outcome of their crop assessment. "The finding of the crop assessment will be presented to the board this week and the chairperson will decide what to do with the information," he said.

In excess of 88 000 farmers have so far registered to grow tobacco during the 2013-2014 season against 65 256 growers that had registered to grow tobacco during the same period in the 2012-2013 growing season. This is an indication of a bigger crop from last year.

Stakeholders in the tobacco industry have hinted that this will see the target for this year being raised to 185 million kg's from 170 million kg's last year.

Dr Matibiri said tobacco prices for this season are not expected to be very different from those of last season, which averaged US$3,72 per kg.

A total of 166,6 million kilogrammes of flue-cured tobacco was sold last year grossing US$612,1 million. Contract sales accounted for 64 percent of total sales while the balance was sold through individual sales. Tobacco production has been on the rise due to favourable prices and orderly marketing. Prices have averaged between US$4/kg and US$5/kg last season.

Many farmers have switched from growing crops such as cotton, maize and wheat that have presented them with several challenges such as in- adequate funding and low prices on the market. Enditem