Zimbabwe: All Set for Tobacco Selling Season

Source from:  The Herald (Harare) April 24, 2006 04/26/2006

ALL is set for the 2005/2006 tobacco selling season, which opens tomorrow. An official with the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board confirmed that some of the tobacco has already started coming in from the farmers. "Some farmers are now grading their crop with some having already brought their produce now waiting anxiously for the selling season to begin," said the official. For its part, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has introduced bonus incentives of $40 000 per kg for the early deliveries. The central bank also announced a new support price of US$1,80 per kg, which has been welcomed by most of the tobacco growers. Twenty-seven firms have already been given licences to purchase tobacco. The firms have been classified into three categories -- Classes A and B, and contract. TIMB said that 18 companies were licensed under A class, which qualifies them to buy tobacco for export only while five companies were licensed as Class B, which gives them the right to buy the golden leaf for speculative purposes. Six companies have been authorised to purchase tobac co produced under contract. TIMB added that all three auction floors, namely Burley Marketers Zimbabwe, Tobacco Sales Floor and Zimbabwe International Auction Floors, have been licensed to operate in 2006. About 60 million kg of the golden leaf are expected to go under the hammer during the 2006 tobacco selling season which runs for at least 16 weeks until August 31. At least 74 million kg was sold last year. However, erratic fuel supplies, late disbursement of inputs such as seed and fertilizer were likely to affect the size and quality of this year's crop. Enditem