Zimbabwe: $200 million realized at tobacco auction floors
The latest statistics from TIMB showed that as of Friday (Day 35), revenue had reached $191,243 million from the 51 million kg of tobacco sold so far.
The total value is 25.57 percent above last year’s figure and 26.29 percent above last year’s output. The price of tobacco as of April 4 averages $3.74 per kg up from $3.72 per kg during the same period last year. The sales comprised 30,572 million kg contract and 20,504 million kg auction sales.
On Friday, 7,555 million kg went under the hammer at Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF) while Boka Tobacco Auction Floors (BTAF) and Premier Tobacco Auction Floor (PTAF) sold 7,460 million kg and 5,488m kg respectively. In the period under review, TSF bought tobacco at an average price of $3,77 per kg, BTAF at $3,67 per kg and PTAF at $3,63 per kg. At least 720 888 bales were accepted, while 36 434 bales had been rejected for various reasons.
According to TIMB weekly tobacco report, about 82,833 growers have registered for the 2013 season compared to about 58,801 who had registered by the same period last year.
TIMB projects 170 million kg of the golden leaf to be brought to the auction floors this season. In the 2012/2013 marketing season, 144 million kg of tobacco were sold, earning the country $525 million.
