Auction flue-cured prices down

Prices paid at Zimbabwe’s flue-cured tobacco auctions are 15.5 percent down on those recorded at the same point of last year’s auctions, according to a story in The Herald quoting Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board figures.

The average price so far this season stands at $3.16 per kg, down from $3.74 per kg during the same period of last year.

The low prices have been attributed to the arrival at the auction floors of low-quality tobacco.

Those selling through the contract system, however, are doing better, with the average price so far standing at $3.31 per kg.

The difference in prices has ignited fears about the viability of the auction floors, because more growers are opting for contract farming or selling their tobacco through the contract system.

Premier Tobacco Auction Floor Managing Director Philemon Mangena was quoted as having told members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation who toured the auction floors last week that they were now losing business, as many growers were opting to sell their tobacco through the contract system.