Zimbabwe Deliveries Exceed 181 Million Kg

Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe have earned US$452 million from leaf sales to date this season, reports The Herald citing statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board.

Tobacco deliveries have surpassed 181 million kg as contract floors continue to receive leaf despite the curtain coming down on the selling season for auction floors late last month.

The 2020 tobacco auction season closed on August 28.

The volume received so far is 24 percent smaller than that sold by farmers during the same period last season.

Auction sales were down due to the decentralization that was implemented to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.

On day 89, farmers had sold 171.5 million kg of tobacco worth US$426 million through the contract floors, while auction floors sold a cumulative 9.1 million kg of tobacco worth US$27.7 million.

The highest price offered by buyers at the auction floors remained at US$4.99 per kg, while that of the contract floors was US$6.60 per kg.

Following a radical program of land reform, Zimbabwe’s tobacco business is now dominated by small-scale growers.

Tobacco Reporter last covered the market in-depth in 2018.