Zimbabwe Tobacco Seed Association (ZTSA) has stopped production and is closing down after failing to secure parent seed, reports NewsDay. The company expressed fears that this will affect the billon-dollar tobacco leaf sector.
“We have not had the chance to get parent seed for the past six years, and it pushed us out of business,” said Mildred Kamusasa, ZTSA executive committee chairperson. “We had over 400 workers as part of the seed production company. Sadly, the company is not relocating, but we are shutting down operations and liquidating.
“There is no hope that we can come back into play any time soon.”
“While the closure of ZTSA is disheartening, rest assured that the supply of tobacco seed will continue without any compromise,” said Tatenda Mugabe, public relations and communications officer at Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Research Board.