Zimbabwean Shisha Crop Selling Rapidly

Growers of shisha tobacco in Zimbabwe sold more than a third of their crop within four days, reports The Herald, citing figures from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).

The farmers pocketed $660,000, earning an average price of $3.62 per kilogram. Out of 2,385 bales presented, 162 bales, or 6.79 percent, were rejected by buyers. The current average price is 15 percent higher than the 2023 season average.

Nonetheless, the figures make shisha tobacco less profitable for growers than flue-cured tobacco, according to Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association Chairman George Seremwe, although he acknowledges that producing shisha leaf is less capital intensive.

While shisha is a type of flue-cured tobacco, it is derived from imported seeds and produced using different agronomic practices. To obtain the desired low nicotine levels, the tobacco fields are planted much more densely than is typical with cigarette tobaccos, ensuring fierce competition among the plants for nutrients.

Cavendish Lloyd is the only shisha leaf merchant registered and licensed with the TIMB. Tobacco Reporter profiled the company in its May 2022 print edition (see “Great Expectations”).