Lower price ‘compares favorably’

Zimbabwe has revised its flue-cured tobacco sales target from 175 million kg to 190 million kg, according to a story in the Daily News.

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) communications manager Isheunesu Moyo said on Tuesday that the higher-than-expected tobacco deliveries were a testimony to the improved performance by farmers.

Zimbabwean tobacco farmers had improved their agronomic practices over the years, Moyo said. They were investing in farming as a business by building irrigation infrastructure and rocket barns. And as a result, they had been able to adapt to the El-Nino weather phenomena.

Moyo said that the tobacco industry regulator would continue to hold training for farmers across the country to ensure that Zimbabwe returned its all-time peak of 236 million kg that was achieved in 2000.

There was no mention, however, of the seemingly poor performance of buyers, who, in 2014, paid an average price of $3.17 per kg but who in 2015 paid only $2.93 per kg.

The story said that as of July 26, 185.3 million kg of flue-cured had been sold for $544 million, at an average price of $2.94 per kg.

And it went on to say that this ‘compares favorably’ with the 176 million kg sold for $518 million, at an average price of $2.95 per kg during the same period of the 2015 sales season.

However, the story did go on to say that the current marketing season could have been better had it not been affected by a number of ‘challenges’, such as poor prices, shortages of wrapping paper, congestion and corruption by some employees at the auction floors.

The flue-cured tobacco auction marketing season will end on August 5, though there will be a clean-up sale on August 23.