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Tag: Zimbabwe

  • Zimbabwe Prepares for Marketing Season

    Zimbabwe Prepares for Marketing Season

    Image: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe’s tobacco growers are preparing for the 2024 marketing season, set to begin in March, reports Xinhua News.

    Farmers remain hopeful for a successful season despite unfavorable weather patterns that affected some crops—late onset of rains and severe hailstorms in some areas.

    This year’s projection is 250 million kg of tobacco due to the dry spell compared to last year’s record high of 296 million kg, according to Chelesani Tsarwe, public affairs officer of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). By 2025, the government aims to increase production to 300 million kg per year.

    Tobacco auction floors will open March 13, according to the TIMB. Contract floors will open March 14. 

    Favorable pricing will be crucial for farmers to cover costs, especially for small-scale farmers, who make up over 80 percent of the country’s tobacco farmers, according to George Seremwe, president of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association.

    Tobacco is a major foreign currency earner in the country.

    “We think it will be very important for the government and the stakeholders to work on value addition, that is, value addition locally; with that, probably, we hope that the profits will also be shared among farmers,” said Seremwe.

  • Zimbabwe Markets to Open March 13

    Zimbabwe Markets to Open March 13

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe’s tobacco auctions will open March 13, 2024, reports The Herald, citing a Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) announcement. Contract floors will open one day later,

    Last year, the tobacco marketing season started on March 8 for auction floors and March 9 for the contract buyers.

    TIMB statistics show that farmers had planted 113,101 hectares under the crop by Feb. 2, a 4 percent decline from last year’s 117,645 ha.

    Meanwhile, some farmers welcomed the announcement of the dates, saying that would help improve liquidity in the market.

     Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) chief executive officer, Rodney Ambrose said he expects the market to be significantly firmer than previous seasons to counter the high production costs. Zimbabwe’s tobacco growing season has been impacted by alternating wet and dry conditions, which has contributed to an increase in pests and diseases. Given that other leaf origins, such as Brazil, have also struggled with extreme weather conditions this year, Ambrose expects leaf prices to be high.

    The ZTA has asked the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to increase the share of earnings that growers are allowed to retain in U.S. dollars from the current 75 percent.

     The government standardized all export retentions to 75 percent with the balance of 25 percent liquidated at the ruling interbank rate. Last year, farmers retained 85 percent of their earnings in foreign currency, with the 15 percent balance liquidated into local currency.

  • Zimbabwe Farmers Demand Premiums

    Zimbabwe Farmers Demand Premiums

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Following a 30 percent increase in tobacco export earnings to $1.3 billion in 2023, Zimbabwean tobacco farmers are pushing for increased premiums, according to The Herald.

    In 2023, Zimbabwe exported tobacco products worth $1.3 billion, up from $998.1 million in 2022, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats). In volume, the increase was 20 percent for the same period.

    “The huge gap between what ends in the farmer’s pocket and what exporters take home is a big anomaly that needs to be addressed,” said George Seremwe, chairman of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association (ZTGA). “Participation of farmers in the value addition chain needs to be enhanced by making sure they take ownership of the crop all the way to the market.”

    Seremwe stated that there should be a premium price paid back to farmers after the value addition process as happened in the past. He also argued for a model that rewards farmers in terms of export earnings.

    “We used to have export retention schemes from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. This needs to be revived so that the farmer gets more value from the crop,” the ZTGA chair said.

    “The grower is the weakest link in this matrix and needs protection from (the) government,” said Zimbabwe Progressive Tobacco Farmers Association (ZPTFA) president Mutasa Mutandwa.

    “The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board needs to thoroughly monitor contractors as per the compliance administration framework in order to find out what inputs have been given to farmers versus the crop they are buying,” said Mutandwa.

    “Our crop is fetching high prices on the international market, as it is used as a blender, but the farmer is not benefiting. There is need for massive investment in tobacco processing plants to increase exports of high-priced manufactured products,” explained the ZPTFA president.

    The Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan aims to increase value addition from 2 percent to 30 percent by 2025 to reach a $5 billion tobacco industry.

    “The price at the floors can only be enhanced by improving the quality of the leaf as buyers prefer clean and clear styles,” said Shadreck Makombe, president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union. “There is need to have more investment in processing to enhance value addition.”

  • Diversification in Africa: FCTC No Help

    Diversification in Africa: FCTC No Help

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    While participants in the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) are keen for tobacco growers to abandon the golden leaf, farmers around the world say they receive little support in switching to alternative livelihoods.

    Interviewed by the International Tobacco Growers’ Association, Ryan Swales, president of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA), said he has not witnessed any attempts from the global health body to assist with diversification.

    “I do not see any help from the WHO FCTC helping the diversification of tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe,” he was quoted as saying. “We are on our own, and a big proportion of large-scale growers have diversified on their own, with no help from anyone else, be it the tobacco companies or the WHO FCTC. If you ask many growers if they know who the WHO FCTC are, you will be met with a blank stare!”

    This sentiment was echoed by ZTA CEO Rodney Ambrose, who noted that for Zimbabwe’s tens of thousands of small-scale farmers, there simply are no viable diversification options. “Our ministry engaged in a study on behalf of WHO FCTC some years back, which clearly concluded that there are no economically viable crops other than tobacco for our small-scale farmers. Tobacco is their livelihood.

    “However, we are always willing to further explore diversification options that the WHO FCTC may propose.”

    In Malawi, tobacco growers have received support from the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World as the country seeks to broaden its economic base.

  • Zimbabwe Exports Up

    Zimbabwe Exports Up

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe earned nearly 3.5 times as much from tobacco exports in January than it did in the same month of 2023, reports The Herald.

    The country exported leaf worth $274.7 million last month, compared with $80.9 million a year ago. The golden leaf raked in just over $1.2 billion from the more than 233 million kilograms exported in 2023.

    According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, exporters shipped 37.8 million kg to date this year, with the bulk of leaf going to China, which has so far imported 30.2 million kg valued at $248.8 million. The average price was $8.24 per kg.

    African countries imported the second largest amount of Zimbabwean tobacco at 3.2 million kg worth $9.3 million at an average price of $2.89 per kg.

    European Union countries imported 1.3 million kg of tobacco from Zimbabwe valued at $2.6 million at an average price of $2.09 a kg.

    For next season, Zimbabwe’s tobacco growers have thus far planted 113,101 hectares, compared to 117,645 ha in the same period last year.

    The decrease in tobacco planting is largely attributed to the delayed start of the rainy season.

  • Farmers Told to Destroy Seedbeds or Risk Arrest

    Farmers Told to Destroy Seedbeds or Risk Arrest

    Image: Global Image Archive

    Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe must destroy seedbeds or risk fines or imprisonment of up to two years, reports The Sunday Mail.

    The revised tobacco planting deadline passed on Jan. 15, following a pushback from Dec. 31.

    Zimbabwe’s Plant Pests and Disease Act requires farmers to destroy all living tobacco plants on seedbeds by Dec. 31.

    “The last date of destroying all tobacco plants in seedbeds was Jan. 15, 2024, and in this case, it passed, and farmers need to abide by that,” said Leonard Munamati, acting chief director of Agricultural Advisory and Rural Development Services.

    “Pathogens, such as potato virus Y and bushy top virus, are a result of poor management and failure to comply with the regulation dates,” said Cleopas Chinheya, head of Kutsaga’s plant health services. “Clearing seedbeds breaks the life cycle of pests and pathogens and viral transmission from seedbeds or fields.”

    “Complying to the regulated dates does not benefit the enforcers but the farmers,” said George Seremwe, president of the Tobacco Association of Zimbabwe. “If we let pests and disease carry over on our land, it is us who suffer.”

    “We always urge our fellow farmers to be responsible in their operations,” said Seremwe.

  • Zimbabwe Farmers: Start 2024 Market Early

    Zimbabwe Farmers: Start 2024 Market Early

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe have called for an early start to the 2024 marketing season to prevent potential storage losses, reports The Herald. The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has indicated that it is still going through farmers’ representations and still licensing buyers.

    Currently, 50 percent of the harvested irrigated tobacco is ready for marketing.

    The TIMB is consulting stakeholders on suggested dates for opening the 2024 marketing season, according to Chelesani Tsarwe, TIMB public affairs officer. The board is expected to meet at the end of January to deliberate on licensing buyers.

    “To ensure a good harvest, growers are encouraged to apply fertilizers correctly, undertake weed, disease, pest and sucker control,” said Tsarwe. “They must ensure they have good, functional and efficient curing facilities and safeguard proper handling of cured leaves to avoid losses.”

    “More than 50 percent of the irrigated crop has been harvested and cured, so as farmers, we have suggested that floors be opened from Feb. 15 going onward,” said George Seremwe, Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association chairman. “Another reason for this consideration is inadequate storage facilities for some of our farmers as well as the need to raise cash from the sale of a few bales to meet labor payments.”

    According to Seremwe, tobacco profitability is being compromised by high interest rates charged by loan sharks.

    “Farmer representatives have indicated that an early start to the season would help them clear loans, reduce borrowing incidences, reduce risks of storing graded tobacco on farms and generate foreign currency early to positively stimulate the market,” said Rodney Ambrose, Zimbabwe Tobacco Association CEO. “Farmer viability remains a major concern as costs of production continue to increase against static floor prices.”

    “We don’t want to open the market and stop due to inadequate volumes, so floors should open when there is a lot of tobacco ready for the market,” said Monica Chinamasa, Zimbabwe National Farmers Union president, who said the marketing season should open after Easter rather than earlier. “The price matrix is generated from the auction floors, so it’s critical to have large tobacco volumes in the auctions for effective price discovery.”

    “The government shifted [the] tobacco seedbed destruction date to Jan. 15 to allow planting to continue, and this should also result in dates of opening of floors set for early or mid-April,” said Victor Mariranyika, Tobacco Farmers Union Trust president, who is also in favor of a late start to the season.

  • Kutsaga Blacklists EDB Soil Fumigation Agent

    Kutsaga Blacklists EDB Soil Fumigation Agent

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    The Kutsaga Tobacco Research Board announced a ban on the use of ethylene dibromide (EDB) in Zimbabwe this year, citing health and environmental concerns, reports The Sunday Mail.

    “Ethylene dibromide has been a widely used method for soil fumigation on tobacco for many years,” said Kutsaga pesticide expert Chiyedza Nyamakura. “However, it is important to note that due to its highly hazardous properties and potential negative impact on human and environmental health, EDB will be phased out for use on tobacco by the end of 2024.”

    Nyamakura said that farmers have access to several alternative nematicides and soil fumigation formulations. “New active ingredients are currently being evaluated so as to give growers a wide variety to select from,” she added.

  • Zimbabwe: Commercial Shisha Hectars Increase

    Zimbabwe: Commercial Shisha Hectars Increase

    Image: KPad

    Zimbabwe’s shisha flue-cured tobacco commercial production increased 270 percent to 407 hectares this season, according to Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) statistics, reports The Herald.

    Last year, 101,559 kg of shisha were marketed at an average of $3.15 per kilogram. It reached a high price of $5.40 per kilogram.

    Currently, Cavendish Lloyd is the only TIMB registered and licensed shisha merchant.

    “Consideration of the dreaded El Nino weather pattern led to farmers planting 407 hectares, a figure less than the planned over 500 this season,” said Tinashe Mukadzambo, Cavendish Lloyd CEO. “In our maiden commercial season last year, we did 110 hectares from 10 commercial growers.”

    More commercial, semi-commercial and small-scale growers, in addition to the 10 commercial growers, were added this year, said Mukadzambo.

    Tobacco Reporter profiled Cavendish Lloyd’s operations in its May 2022 print edition (see “Great Expectations”).

  • Zimbabwe Farmers Start Season on a High

    Zimbabwe Farmers Start Season on a High

    Image: Taco Tuinstra

    As of Jan. 5, 2024, tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe have narrowed the planting gap to within 5 percent of the 2023 hectarage, according to The Herald. The hectarage in 2023 was 27 percent shy of 2022 figures.

    The area planted in for the 2023/2024 season has been smaller than the area for the previous season since Nov. 24, according to Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) statistics.

    Farmers planted a total of 103,652 ha under both dryland and irrigated tobacco across the country.

    This season, 112,916 growers have registered compared to 147,748 in the same period last year. Of registered growers, 93 percent are contracted, according to the TIMB.

    Zimbabwe’s government has extended the date for destruction of tobacco seedbeds to Jan. 15. This season’s planted area could exceed last year’s, according to some farmers.

    “As farmers, we are happy with the current weather pattern and believe that we can slightly exceed last year’s hectarage,” said George Seremwe, chairman of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association, referring to the current wet weather pattern. “Tobacco requires water and a lot of heat units, which is good in terms of the quality of the crop.”

    “The combined influence of extended planting dates and wet weather conditions from around the Christmas period will likely result in this season’s planted area coming close to or surpassing last year’s,” said Victor Mariranyika, president of the Tobacco Farmers Union Trust. “We thank the government for moving planting dates in response to climate change with the crop generally looking good after the rains, which fell after Christmas.”

    In 2023, Zimbabwe saw record crop yield, and the sector expects another positive season this year. The country’s target for this year is 148,500 ha.

    “We are looking at two fundamentals: the hectarage and the potential yield, and with what is on the ground, we are likely to have a good season,” said Emmanuel Matsvaire, acting TIMB CEO. “Information that we have received so far shows that 136,000 ha have been planted, but we still have some districts that have not submitted the figures.”