Tag: Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Tobacco Sales Hit $650 Million

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe earned $650 million during the 2022 tobacco marketing season, which closed Oct. 21, reports All Africa. The figure was up from $589 million last year.
In a statement announcing the end of the 2022 tobacco marketing season, the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) expressed delight with improved sales volumes and deliveries to auction floors.
The value of sales was up 10.3 percent over last year while volume increased 0.75 percent, according to the regulatory body.
As of Oct. 21, 2022, a total of 212,711,370 kg of tobacco had been sold compared with 211,100,219 kg sold during the same period in 2021.
“The increase in tobacco sold as well as the value is evidence of our efforts as an industry to establish a $5 billion industry by 2025,” said the TIMB.
October 31, 2022
CRP to Build $80 million Plant in Harare

Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive
Cut Rag Processors plans to build an $80 million cigarette factory in Harare, Zimbabwe, reports The Sunday Mail, citing sources familiar with the project.
The company, which is one of the country’s largest exporters of cut rag and manufactures the Remington Gold cigarette brand, has already started clearing 60,000 square meters of land in the Lochinvar industrial area.
The factory will have both a primary department for the production of cut rag and a secondary department for the manufacture of cigarettes, an unnamed source told The Sunday Mail.
While confirming the construction of the new facility, Cut Rag Processors Managing Director Nyasha Chinhara declined to provide details, citing “finalization of confidential internal processes.”
The project fits with Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, which aims to extract more value from the tobacco business.
The world’s sixth largest producer of leaf tobacco, Zimbabwe currently captures only a fraction of the trade’s value. The government aims to unlock $5 billion in export revenue by 2025.
Net foreign currency inflows from tobacco stood at $45.7 million in 2020. About 98 percent of tobacco produced in Zimbabwe is exported in green (semi-processed) form by big tobacco merchants.
Zimbabwe has three processing facilities owned by Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco, Tobacco Processors Zimbabwe and Mashonaland Tobacco Co.
Cut Rag Processors was formed in February 2000 as the first independent cut rag production facility in Zimbabwe servicing both the domestic and export markets.
The establishment of the company paved the way for the merger of BAT and Rothmans in 2000. Previously, the Competition and Tariff Commission had rejected the merger out of concern that the merged entity would create a monopoly.
Between 2012 and 2014, Cut Rag Processors closed its cigarette line. A year later, the company decided to exit the entire tobacco business. It returned to production after its owner, Gold Leaf, sold the business to new shareholders in 2019.
Encouraged by the government’s plan to boost Zimbabwe’s tobacco earnings, the new investor injected capital into the manufacturing business.
October 9, 2022
Failure to Launch

Photo: Aleksandr
Zimbabwe’s attempt to diversify into cannabis is proving more challenging than some anticipated.
By Daisy Jeremani
Zimbabwe announced its approval for cannabis growing for medicinal and industrial use in April 2018 amid much hope for an immediate economic impact.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube projected export revenues of up to usd1.2 billion in the first year of growing, processing and exporting the crop and its products. The forecast is almost at par with what gold, the southern African country’s most lucrative export, brings in—and higher than the amount it generates from tobacco, its current No. 1 agricultural export. Cannabis was, too, touted as a diversification route for tobacco growers amid declining demand for the golden leaf.
However, experts have cautioned that Zimbabwe may not realize the benefits as rapidly as authorities initially projected. Forty-two months since the government issued the first licenses, only 15 out of the 57 companies have started work, hampered by a plethora of challenges. Chief among them: lack of financing and expertise.
Speaking to Tobacco Reporter just after her organization, Zimbabwe Industrial Hemp Trust (ZIHT), hosted a cannabis roundtable under the theme “Unpacking the Challenges and Potential of Cannabis as a Medicine” in Harare, the capital city, on Sept. 7, 2022, Zorodzai Maroveke said a lot of work still needs to be done for the country to realize gains from the crop.
A key proponent of legal cannabis production, Maroveke said most licensees lack guaranteed off-take agreements. An unstable market has not helped matters, she added, as prices have kept fluctuating since Zimbabwe became Africa’s second nation after Lesotho to legalize cannabis for medicinal and industrial use.
“An unstable market has been a major challenge for investors to move forward with this project in Zimbabwe and also the issue of funding. Most banks are not willing to finance cannabis because they still don’t understand it,” said the ZIHT founder and CEO.
Another obstacle for license holders is that they have to import expertise as this is a new frontier for the country. Recruiting the right skills is expensive. The cannabis regulatory framework, which she described as very strict, has also hampered the speed at which the industry is progressing.
Maroveke said the cost implications of growing medicinal cannabis are high, citing the European Union’s good manufacturing practices (GMP), which force producers to set up facilities of a high standard of hygiene and security and hire well-trained personnel.
“You will find that for a very small project, maybe even a hectare project, one would potentially pump out not less than usd1million,” said Maroveke.
So if one is to expand, there is a need for more funding, not considering money that must be paid for the GMP compliance auditors as well as inputs, like seeds, which are not only expensive but are also imported.
Though industrial hemp is generally cheaper to produce than medicinal cannabis, the cost depends on its type, she noted. If it is botanical, which is grain hemp for the CBD flower, one should be prepared to part with at least usd200 for a 5 ha project. The market determines the standards and quality that the farmer has to put in.
“So if you’re going to do hemp for fiber and grain, it’s obviously going to be cheaper; you’re looking at usd3,000–usd4,000 a hectare. But Zimbabwe’s hemp and grain industry hasn’t developed to that extent, so we don’t have many activities in those particular subsectors of industrial hemp,” she said.

Tobacco is likely to remain Zimbabwe’s No. 1 agricultural export for the foreseeable future. (Photo: Cavendish Lloyd)
The Sept. 8 roundtable was meant to find, bridge and plug the knowledge gap not only among health professionals but also other experts along the value chain. It is against that backdrop that a top Zimbabwean pharmaceutical supplier, New Avakash International, awarded scholarships to 100 health personnel to undergo training to make them more conversant with cannabis.
At the moment, local varieties are at the research stage. Due to the dictates of the market, buyers direct farmers toward the genetics they want, which at this stage are all imported. As a result, roundtable participants called for more investment in research and development and the development of local growing and processing expertise. As the industry tries to find its place, Maroveke said the government should support it through tax breaks and other incentives for cannabis value addition to be accelerated.
She said Zimbabwe will only realize the gains from cannabis once production kicks off and the export markets are stable and guaranteed.
Former Zimbabwe Tobacco Research Board (TRB) CEO Dahlia Garwe noted that the country leapt in headfirst without conducting proper market research.
“We were supposed to look at what kind of varieties we should be growing and where exactly the material will end. We have a lot of cases where people grew cannabis, but they don’t know what to do with it,” she said.
Garwe noted that the costs involved in setting up facilities for the processing of the herb and for a basic setup are as high as usd400,000. For a facility that is compliant with all the necessary health requirements, the costs can be about usd3 million.
With regards to research that is underway, she said experts are looking for locally adapted germplasm, with the TRB going around the country to identify varieties adapted to the local environment. After that, they would breed local varieties and material from elsewhere to come up with varieties that are most suitable for Zimbabwe.
“That is ongoing work. It will obviously take a few years before we get to a point where we say we have locally adapted varieties,” she said.
However, this is not to say varieties developed elsewhere can’t do well in Zimbabwe, “but that’s where the research comes in, where you’re actually evaluating varieties coming from elsewhere and you see whether they actually work or not.”
Speaking while commissioning a usd27 million medicinal cannabis project by Swiss Bioceuticals in May 2022, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa expressed frustration over the slow investment by licensees.
“It is disappointing that since 2018, only 15 out of 57 entities issued with cannabis licenses are operational,” he said. “Such licenses should not be held for speculative purposes, and those not using them risk government invoking the ‘use it or lose it’ principle.”
Former Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chairperson Monica Chinamasa said farmers are still waiting for the ongoing research on varieties that are suitable for the local climate.
“We are still waiting for the TRB to guide us on this matter,” she said.
The EU requires GMP and good agricultural collection practices certificates to be in place before a cannabis producer can venture into that business. The financial implications for applying for the certification are huge for some Zimbabwean investors, said Munyaradzi Shamhudzarir of Voedsel Cannabis, one of the few Zimbabwe-owned companies to have planted cannabis.
“The process of getting these certifications is also very long—at least three years before you can complete all the audits and get certification,” he said.
October 3, 2022
Zimbabwe: Record Tobacco Area Expected

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Industry representatives expect Zimbabwe’s tobacco farmers to plant a record hectarage of leaf this season as sales of seed soar, reports The Herald.
As of Sept. 2, 2022, at least 925 kg of tobacco seed with the capacity to cover 184,999 ha was sold, according to the Tobacco Research Board. This would be the largest hectarage ever planted if all the seed sold is sown.
Planting of irrigated tobacco began on Sept. 1, 2022, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). The TIMB stated that it has designed a monitoring system for contractors’ compliance to help relieve farmers’ anxiety over contract farming agreements.
“As the 2022/2023 season commences, TIMB is working toward standardizing the inputs package offered by contractors to growers,” said Chelesani Moyo, TIMB public relations officer.
“We have come up with a compliance administration framework that every registered contractor should meet. This stipulates the minimum inputs package for both small[-scale] and large-scale growers. The conditions also include the last date for inputs distribution for those who are contracted.”
“The pricing of tobacco being determined at the auction floors through a transparent system is justified as the grower is protected from any unfair pricing by the contractor who stands guided by the previous day grade price matrix obtained from the auction floors,” Moyo added.
September 7, 2022
Zimbabwe: More Money From Less Tobacco

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe has sold 201.05 million kg of tobacco worth US$614.27 million since the marketing season opened in March, reports The Star, citing statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board.
While being close to matching last year’s output, the value of the crop sold so far this year has surpassed last year’s figure, reflecting firmer prices due to good quality leaf. During the same period in 2021, Zimbabwe’s tobacco growers sold 207.18 million kg for US$578.78 million.
Despite being grown under difficult conditions characterized by erratic rainfall, the seasonal price averaged above US$3 per kg compared to US$2.79 per kg last year.
Ninety-five percent of Zimbabwe’s tobacco crop is grown under the contract system. Only 5 percent of farmers self-finance their crop production, which they then sell through auction floors.
Zimbabwe’s tobacco auction season officially closed July 20, but contract sales are still ongoing.
August 22, 2022
Zimbabwe: Growers Start Land Preparations

Photo: YanaKho
Tobacco growers in Zimbabwe have started preparing land to plant their irrigated tobacco crop in early September, reports The Herald.
Sept. 1 is the earliest legislative date for transplanting tobacco from the seedbed to the field. The bulk of the rain-fed crop will be planted from October to early December, depending on the region. To prevent the carryover of diseases, tobacco farmers are required to destroy tobacco stalks and regrowths, which can host pest and pathogens, by May 1 each year.
Industry representatives expressed concern about the cost of agricultural inputs this year.
“The major challenge on the ground is that input prices are very high, hence the majority of farmers are finding it difficult to continue with tobacco farming,” said Edward Dune, vice president of the Zimbabwe National Farmers’ Union, urging authorities to improve the conditions of payment.
This season, tobacco farmers were paid three quarters of their proceeds in foreign currency and the balance in local currency, converted at the prevailing auction exchange rate on the day of sale.
According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, prices at the auction floors, at US$3.04, were firm because of low volumes. In 2022, tobacco growers pocketed more than US$620 million from their leaf sales.
August 15, 2022
Tobacco Auction Season Ends in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s tobacco farmers are making their last deliveries as the tobacco auction season comes to a close.
The auction season, which started in March, closed on Wednesday, with more than 180 million kg of the golden leaf having been sold at an average price of $3.04 per kg.
However, due to the significant volumes that are still being received, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), said contract sales will continue until further notice. A mop-up sale will be conducted on August 17.
“This season was okay, although not as good as last year,” said Tafadzwa Mugwagwa, a small-scale farmer from Rusape, a farming region southeast of Harare.
“We experienced erratic rainfall, there was a dry spell and the rains were late. The crop was affected when we applied fertilizers but it picked again when the rains came, that’s why the crop wasn’t auctioned on time,” he told Xinhua, according to CTGN Africa.
While most farmers had already delivered their crops to the auction floors before the end of the selling season, many farmers from Manicaland Province said they are yet to bring all their crops to the market.
“We haven’t brought all the crops to the market, we still have tobacco crops back home because we didn’t finish harvesting on time. We were still curing tobacco in June,” said Dorothy Chigwededza, a tobacco farmer.
July 21, 2022
Zimbabwe to Wrap up Auction Sales

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe expects to wrap up its tobacco auction season July 20 with slightly better prices than last year, reports Xinhua News Agency, citing the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).
A flue-cured auction mop-up sale will be conducted on Aug. 17, 2022, and depending on the volume of deliveries, the clean-up sale may be continued for more than one day until all delivered tobacco is sold.
The TIMB added that because of significant volumes that are still being received, contract sales will continue until further notice.
Zimbabwe’s 2022 tobacco auction selling season started March 30, 2022.
Tobacco prices have been slightly firmer this year, due to better leaf quality despite the difficult weather conditions experienced during the season.
The opening price this year was $4.60 per kg, compared with $4.30 last year.
Over the course of the selling season, prices remained firm, averaging above $3 per kg compared to an average of $2.80 per kg last year.
As of July 12, farmers had sold 179.4 million kg of golden leaf at an average price of $3.04 per kg.
The bulk of Zimbabwe’s tobacco leaf is sold through contract floors, as only 5 percent of farmers are able to self-finance tobacco leaf production.
Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s second foreign currency earner after gold, with China and South Africa being the major buyers of the country’s golden leaf.

July 17, 2022
TIMB Vows Crackdown on Side Marketing

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) vowed to crack down on side marketing, noting that five exporters lost $57 million due to the practice in 2021, according to News Day.
Side marketing is a form of contract breach in which contracted tobacco growers sell their produce to third parties in violation of an agreement to sell all their leaf to the party who provided the agricultural inputs.
“This year, 2022, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board is on an accelerated drive to end tobacco side-marketing. This criminal practice is responsible for the loss of millions of dollars annually and has the potential to kill the tobacco industry,” the TIMB wrote in an article published on its website.
“TIMB cannot accurately ascertain how much is lost annually since side-marketing is an illegal activity whose statistics cannot be accurately ascertained. However, in 2021 alone five exporters lost US$57 million as a result of several factors and chief among them being side marketing,” it said.
Prior to Zimbabwe’s radical land reform program in the early 2000s, most of the country’s tobacco was produced by commercials farmers who funded their own operations and sold their leaf at auction. Today’s Zimbabwean tobacco production is dominated by smallholder production and contract buying, as most of the new farmers are unable to pre-finance their crops.
In 2021, the TIMB created a special unit, the inspectorate department, to prevent, detect and investigate side marketing and other illegal activities in the tobacco industry.
July 12, 2022
Boka Tobacco Sales Suspended

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) has suspended the Boka Tobacco Sales Floor (BSF) from purchasing tobacco from farmers with immediate effect, reports Africa Press.
The regulator acted on July 14 following several reports by growers that they have spent more than a month without receiving payment for their produce.
TIMB Public Affairs Officer Chelesani Moyo said the suspension will be reviewed after the BSF clears all its outstanding dues and provides proof of adequate financial resources.
“We have received several complaints from growers who have not been paid by Boka Tobacco Sales Floor after sales,” she said.
“As a regulator, we have engaged with Boka management to resolve the issue in an amicable manner.
With immediate effect, TIMB has suspended all tobacco purchases by Boka until they have cleared all outstanding payments and provided proof of adequate financial resources.”
July 11, 2022