Tobacco seed sales slip in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe might register a decline in the area under tobacco during the 2015-16 season because seed sales have declined by 30 percent from those of last year, according to a story in The Herald.

With only two weeks left before the end of the normal seed-selling period, the uptake is down by 28.7 percent from about 585,200 kg during the 2014-15 season to about 417,500 kg.

The seed sold so far would translate into 417,500 ha, down from the 585,200 ha grown to tobacco in 2014-15.

Meanwhile, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chief executive, Dr. Andrew Matibiri, just over 53,000 farmers have registered to grow tobacco in 2015-16, down from about 70,000 farmers in 2014-15.

During the 2014-15 season, most tobacco growers complained about low prices while the merchants argued the crop quality was poor.