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Tag: tobacco farmers

  • Zimbabwe Sees Steep Decline in Registered Tobacco Farmers for Next Season

    Zimbabwe Sees Steep Decline in Registered Tobacco Farmers for Next Season

    Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) announced that 82,965 farmers registered to grow tobacco for the 2025/26 season, with the registration deadline closing October 31. Both new and returning growers are required to pay a $10 registration fee before starting production. Farmers who miss the deadline now face penalties — ranging from $10 to $90, depending on how late they register.

    According to The Herald, the TIMB announced more than 126,000 registered tobacco growers for the 2024/25 season.

    TIMB said registration is crucial for industry planning, forecasting, and maintaining market stability. The board uses the data to estimate crop size, monitor trends, and ensure smooth marketing operations. Zimbabwe remains Africa’s largest producer of flue-cured tobacco, with this year’s output reaching 355 million kilograms worth $1.2 billion.

  • Malawian Tobacco Farmers Advised to Adhere to Quotas Next Season

    Malawian Tobacco Farmers Advised to Adhere to Quotas Next Season

    Tama Farmers Trust advised Malawian tobacco farmers to strictly follow Tobacco Commission (TC) quotas in the 2025/26 growing season to prevent overproduction and prolonging the selling process, which would potentially disrupt next season. The 2024/25 season, which opened in April, will close on October 24, making it one of the longest in recent years.

    Initial projections estimated Malawi would produce 174.4 million kg of tobacco this year, but because of favorable weather conditions was able to sell 214 million kg for $532 million, up from last year’s $396 million.

    Trust president Abiel Kalima Banda praised TC for ensuring that all produced tobacco was sold, with remaining volumes being purchased through the Smallholder Farmers Fertiliser Revolving Fund of Malawi to guarantee full sales.

  • Zimbabwe: Decline in New Tobacco Growers

    Zimbabwe: Decline in New Tobacco Growers

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter Archive

    The number of new tobacco growers in Zimbabwe for the 2021–2022 season has declined by 50 percent compared to the previous year, according to a report in The Herald.

    According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), 756 of the new registered farmers are from the communal sector, 244 are A1 farmers, 38 are from the small-scale commercial sector and 56 are from the A2 sector.

    Meanwell Gudu, TIMB chief executive, attributed the decline in new registrations to viability issues. “The decline witnessed in terms of registration of new tobacco growers can be attributed to viability issues. The cost of production is going up and the growing demand of the U.S. dollar component in the operations,” he said. “Even farm laborers now demand payment in foreign currency. So without development funding, it becomes a challenge for new tobacco farmers to register.”

    Meanwhile, average prices for tobacco exports have marginally increased this year.

    “There [are] increased exports, which is a clear reflection of the opening up of the economy post-Covid-19 lockdowns, and there are improvements in logistics,” Gudu said.

    So far, Zimbabwe has exported tobacco worth $307.8 million this season compared to $222.2 million in the same period last year.