Zambian growers unhappy with prices

Tobacco growers in the Kaoma and Nkeyema districts of Western Province, Zambia, are complaining about what they see as the low prices being offered and the buying methods being used by Alliance One Zambia (AOZ), according to a Times of Zambia story.

The growers said they had been spending nights at the company’s sheds hoping that the price, now ranging between ZMW1 and ZMW7.50 per kg, would be increased.

Two growers were quoted as saying that AOZ was undervaluing their tobacco and rejecting some of it on the grounds that it amounted to “excess” production.

Another said that the prices being offered could not cover even the costs of production.

Meanwhile, AOZ manager Hillary Chanda was quoted as saying that his company was buying only from its sponsored growers and that it was limiting the amount of tobacco being bought from each farmer to 1,000 kg per ha, though with an additional allowance of up to 20 percent based on the crop estimates of individual growers.