Zimbabwe Delivers Tobacco Increase in Auction Floors

Source from:  Xinhua News Agency - CEIS 04/28/2004

Zimbabwean Tobacco Sales Floor managing director David Machingaidze said here Monday that deliveries of tobacco for auctioning had doubled in recent days, and the quality of the commodity had also improved. "Deliveries have picked up as we are now selling over 2,000 bales per day, up from 1,000 a week ago," said Machingaidze. "We have now reached the normal start of the season. Most farmers have finished grading their crop and are now ready to deliver. We are also getting good quality crop, which is being reflected by the prices that are way ahead of last year's," he said. He said the improved exchange rate and the support price scheme announced by the central bank last week should boost production that has declined sharply over the years. "We are optimistic that the incentives and improved availability of inputs should work positively in resuscitating production of tobacco. It is a good signal to the farmers who are now doing the land preparation for next year's crop," he said. Burley Marketing Zimbabwe managing director Bruce Searles said the volume of the crop at the floor had also improved. "The volumes are improving and the quality is also not bad," he said. Tobacco farmers, who have been crying for the review of the exchange rate, will now get 750 Zimbabwean dollars (about 0.15 US dollars) per kg over and above the blend rate backdated to the beginning of this year's marketing season. This was announced by central bank governor Gideon Gono last week when he presented a quarterly review of the monetary policy. Meanwhile, some 3.1 million kg of flue cured tobacco valued at 5.8 million US dollars have been sold in the first three weeks of the 2004 selling season, officials said. The mass sold represents a 10.35 percent increase on the 2.8 million kg sold during the same period last y ear. This year's crop, expected to be around 60 million kg, is being sold through the auction floors and contract buyers. The farmers are having 75 percent of their earnings paid using the ruling auction rate and 25 percent paid at the government rate of 824 to the greenback. Tobacco has remained the country's largest foreign currency earner despite production declining from a peak of 237 million kg in 2000 to the projected 60 million kg this year. Enditem