Zimbabwe: Tobacco Selling Season Opens Month-end

Source from:  The Manica Post 03/11/2016

THE delayed 2016 tobacco selling season will officially open its doors to the public on 30 March.

Tobacco Marketing Board (TIMB) chairperson, Mrs Monica Chinamasa, said contract tobacco farmers would make deliveries the following day.

TIMB has licenced 23 buyers and 15 merchants for contract sales.

Mrs Chinamasa, however, warned against side marketing and said growers were free to choose auction floor of their choice and also that contractors should not buy tobacco that they had not supported.

The auction floors normally open by mid-February, but delayed this year owing to ill-preparedness by farmers whose operations were severely compromised by the El-Nino induced drought.

Drought has irreversibly affected the tobacco crop this season culminating in decline of hectarage from 93 419ha in the 2014 /15 season to 89 500ha this season.

At least 160 million kilogrammes of tobacco are expected to go under the hammer this season.

Farmers are being urged to shun corrupt elements who entice them to pay money upfront in order to get better prices.

"Growers are free to book and deliver on first-come-first-serve basis to a floor of their choice."

"The practice of deliver today and sell tomorrow will apply at all auction floors," she said.

Mrs Chinamasa said all the three auction floors were compliant with the TIMB regulations, among them setting up of ablution facilities, bank facilities, clinics, waiting areas, information technology systems, backup generators and borehole water supply.

She added that banks had assured TIMB that adequate cash for growers would be available.

The tobacco industry has been on a recovery path since 2009 when the country adopted the multi-currency system.

In the 2014\15 marketing season, 144 million kg of tobacco were sold, earning the country $785 million.

Registered growers for the 2015 /16 season were 71 597 farmers registered compared to 90 701 in the previous year.

New Growers were 9 103 in 2015 /16 season compared to 17 048 in 2015.

Mash West 2 638 (communal) 7 839 (A1) 2 211 (A2), 1 764 (small-scale) giving a total of 27 888 against 31 732 the previous year.

Mash Central had 11 949 (communal) 9 561 (A1) 1 731 (A2) 1 893 (small-scale) totalling 25 134, compared to 26 673 in 2014.

Manicaland had 3199 (communal) 4 220 (A1), 724 (A2) 815 (small-scale) adding to 8 958 farmers when compared to 15 793 the previous year.

Mash East had 2 863 (communal) 4 086 (A1) 1 290 (A2) 941 (small-scale) which add up to 9 180 farmers against 15 655 farmers from the previous year.

Midlands had 202 (communal) 57 (A1) 25 (A2) 12 (small-scale) totaling 296 farmers this season against 455 the previous year.

A total of 34 362 communal farmers, 25 801 A1 farmers, 5 995 A2 farmers, 5 439 small-scale took up tobacco farming totalling 71 597 farmers, 21 percent less than the 90,701 farmers who laboured for the crop in 2014.

The latest crop summary from TIMB shows that Mashonaland Central his year had 3 537ha of irrigated crop and 24 154ha of dry land crop adding to 27 691ha.

Last season the province had 2 933ha of irrigated crop and 21 206ha of dry- land, totalling to 24 139ha in 2014 /15 season.

Mashonaland West this year had 4 065ha of irrigated crop and 30 690ha of dry-land, totalling 34 755ha.

Last season it put 4 736ha under irrigated and 35 328ha of dry-land tobacco, totalling 40 064ha.

Mashonaland East had 5 450ha were put under irrigation and 12 667ha under dry land, totalling 18117ha last year the province had 5 359ha under irrigated and 14 099ha under dry-land, totalling 19 458ha.

Manicaland planted 1 830ha under irrigated and 9123 under dry-land, totalling 10 953ha. Last year, 2145ha were under irrigated and 20 984ha under dry-land giving a total of 23 129ha.

Masvingo planted 71ha this season compared to 165 grown in the 2014/15 season. A total of 15 098ha was under irrigated and 76 698ha under dry-land, totalling to 92 160ha compared to 15 352 ha (irrigated) and 92194ha (dry-land) totalling 107 546ha grown in 2014 /15 season. Enditem