Zimbabwe - Tobacco Reporter

TIMB Introduces Natural Air Curing Systems

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) in Zimbabwe has introduced a natural air curing system (NACS), reports New Zimbabwe.

The new NACS will help prevent farmers from losing leaf due to lack of space in curing facilities. NACS is a drying technique that forces ambient air through the leaf to attain acceptable moisture content.

“This significantly reduces farmers’ post-harvest yield losses and ultimately improves farmer viability, profitability and sustainability,” said the TIMB.

“The introduction of this natural Virginia tobacco product to the Zimbabwe tobacco industry is in line with the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, which has the farmer at the core of the transformation and seeks to improve productivity and sustainability.”

“The introduction of new systems and practices will also aid in addressing side marketing. Farmers’ cost of production will be reduced, increasing profitability, thereby reducing farmer incentive to side market.”

“Atlas Agri (Private) Limited will be joining TIMB to spearhead this new initiative,” added the TIMB.

March 24, 2023

Zimbabwe: Prices up as Auctions Open

Tobacco prices in Zimbabwe fetched $4.35 per kg at the start of the new marketing season today, up from $4.20 last year, reports Reuters.

“It looks like we are going to have a good crop,” said Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) Chairman Patrick Devenish, who credited favorable rainfalls.

The TIMB expects the country to produce 230 million kg of tobacco this year, 8.5 percent more than in 2022.

Tobacco land use grew to 117,000 hectares this year from 110,000 hectares in 2022, according to the TIMB. The industry also saw an increase in the number of tobacco farmers to 148,527 this year from 123,000 in 2022.

The tobacco industry contributes nearly $1 billion to export earnings every year, Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said on March 8. Government statistics showed it accounted for more than 12 percent of exports in January.

Zimbabwe is currently implementing a “Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan,” which seeks to extract more profit from the sector by processing raw leaf into higher-value products.

“We seek to localize the financing of tobacco. We wish to transform the tobacco sector so we don’t export value,” Agriculture Minister Anxious Masuka said on March 8.

“This industry is on the cusp of growth.”

March 8, 2023

Zimbabwe: Optimism Ahead of Sales Season

Zimbabwe’s tobacco auctions will open tomorrow, March 8, with an official ceremony at the Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF), reports Chronicle. Although the auctions sell only around 5 percent of Zimbabwe’s crop, they are the major price setter and must thus occur first. Deliveries for the contract crop are scheduled to start March 9.

This year’s marketing season kicks off earlier than last year because favorable rainfall has resulted in sufficient volumes of cured and graded tobacco to start selling. In addition to the TSF, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has licensed the Premier Tobacco Auction Floor and the Boka Tobacco Floors to auction tobacco this season.

Farmers interviewed by The Herald said they were optimistic about the upcoming sales season, citing favorable growing conditions and good quality leaf.

“This year’s yield will be better than the previous season due to the implementation of best agronomic practices,” Victor Mariranyika, president of the Tobacco Farmers’ Union Trust, was quoted as saying. “In terms of agronomic practices, the farmers have been looking after the crop very well, from seedbed to the auction, and we don’t expect any damage to the tobacco as a result of the rains.”

Tobacco growers will receive 85 percent of their earnings in U.S. dollars this year, up from 75 percent last. The remainder will be distributed in local currency. About 160,000 farmers grow tobacco in Zimbabwe, which is then exported to 60 countries.

March 7, 2023

Zimbabwean Farmers Anticipate High Prices

Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe are expecting high marketing prices this year following a good growing season and improved curing methods, reports The Herald

“Our assessment of the tobacco crop to date promises higher yields and improved quality. This view is shared by a number of contractors,” said Rodney Ambrose, CEO of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association. “It is in this regard that we are anticipating average prices to be firmer this season.

“There is also a level of increased demand for the crop, so this will help lift the average prices.”

“Farmers are anticipating high prices as the quality of the crop in the field is very good,” said Shadreck Makombe, president of the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union. “All that is left is for farmers to do proper curing. We encourage farmers not to be extravagant and [to] save their hard-earned money and be able to finance next season’s operations.”

“The 85 percent foreign currency retention increase is surely going to put more money in farmers’ pockets,” said Makombe.

According to Edward Dune, vice president of the Tobacco Farmers Union Trust, all farmers are looking forward to a rewarding season. “The playground has to be level in terms of pricing,” he said. “Let the price matrix reward on the basis of quality. No merchant should be a farmer’s favorite given that some are paying more for the same quality to avoid side marketing.”

The Tobacco Farmers Union Trust is lobbying for viable prices to enhance sustainability, according to the organization’s president, Victor Mariranyika.

February 21, 2023

Zimbabwe Marketing Dates Announced

The auction tobacco marketing season opens March 8 with contract tobacco sales opening the next day, reports The Herald.

“All stakeholders are advised that the 2023 auction tobacco marketing season opens on Wednesday, 8 March,” said Emmanuel Matsvaire, acting chief executive of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board. “Sales at licensed auction floors will start at 9 a.m. Contract tobacco sales will open on Thursday, 9 March.”

February 14, 2023

Larger Leaf Quality and Volume Expected

A significantly higher volume and quality of tobacco leaf is expected in Zimbabwe this year due to good rains during the farming season, reports Xinhua News.

The quality of the crops is good and will likely bring in high prices, according to George Seremwe, president of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association.

“This year, we have got a very good crop,” said Seremwe. “Even the dry land crop, which is rain-fed, is looking like the irrigated crop because the rains were quite good.”

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board is still assessing crops to determine the expected output.

February 13, 2023

Zimbabwe Debates Curing Fuel Options

Tobacco grower representatives in Zimbabwe are urging contractors to provide their members with sustainably produced wood rather than coal for leaf curing, according to an article in The Herald.

The compliance enforcement framework (CEF) agreement signed by tobacco buyers and the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board requires contractors to fund tobacco growing inputs, such as fertilizer and curing fuel.

Under the CEF, a 1 hectare pack for small-scale production includes 500 kg of coal or its sustainable wood equivalent as curing fuel.

While most contractors are providing farmers with coal, grower representatives believe wood is more sustainable. “We think wood of an equivalent to the coal component would be better as less charges would be incurred by farmers in U.S. dollar terms,” said Tobacco Farmers Union Trust Vice President Edward Dune.

“Sustainable wood is the way forward as coal use is unsustainable and will likely be phased out in the near future if the current lobbying by environmentalists prevails,” echoed Rodney Ambrose, CEO of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association.

In 2021, the Zimbabwean government crafted the tobacco value chain transformation plan, which seeks to increase tobacco production to 300 million kg by 2025.

The plan emphasizes sustainable production through reforestation programs, fuel-efficient curing facilities and the use of alternative energy sources for curing. It calls for research into the suitability as a fuel source of alternative tree species, such as giant bamboo.

February 6, 2023

Buyer Loses License Over Side Marketing

Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) canceled Leanrise Tobacco’s buying license after finding the company guilty of side marketing, reports Zimeye.

According to the TIMB, Leanrise illegally leased its license to Munyasha Tobacco.

Leanrise denied the accusations and accused the regulator of misinterpreting the law. “We are not side marketing and there is nothing to substantiate any allegation of such nature,” the company said.

Leanrise argued it is entitled to have agents to advance its business. “Any tobacco purchased by the use of the Leanrise license is tobacco purchased for Leanrise,” the company noted. “In any event, the Leanrise license cannot be used to purchase tobacco from growers who are not contracted with Leanrise.”

The TIMB was unpersuaded by Leanrise’s defense, however. “After considering the contents therein, your justification for leasing your license to Munyasha Agro Pvt. Ltd. and all circumstances surrounding the matter, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has decided to cancel your license in terms of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing (Prohibition of side marketing) Regulations, 2022 SI 77 of 2022,” the TIMB wrote.

January 13, 2023

Zimbabwe Keen to Move up the Value Chain

The Zimbabwe government has put in place modalities to ensure value addition for tobacco before export, reports the Zimbabwe Independent.

The government plans to reach its USD5 billion tobacco industry goal by 2025 through beneficiation of the crop, according to Anxious Masuka, minister of lands, agriculture, water and rural resettlement.

“What we want to do is to ensure that there is more value addition and beneficiation of tobacco. We export 98 percent of our tobacco in raw form, thereby exporting jobs and value. It is estimated that we produce more than 200 million kilograms of tobacco, and as it crosses the border, the same tobacco fetches USD15 billion, and we only get USD1 billion,” Masuka said.

“Our tobacco is worth billions on the international market, but as Zimbabwe, we only get USD1 billion. So the government has now put in place the transformation plan to ensure that we increase the volume and also value add so that by 2025 we can have a USD5 billion industry.”

In 2022, Zimbabwe earned USD650 million, up from USD589 million in 2021.

January 12, 2023

Power Shortages Hamper Zim Curing

Power shortages in Zimbabwe are creating headaches for farmers who rely on electricity to cure their leaf tobacco, according to an article in The Herald.

Due to low water levels, the Zambezi River Authority has ordered the Zimbabwe Power Co. to stop production at its Kariba South hydroelectric plant, which is the largest electricity generator in the country.

The shortfall in power supply from the national grid means that tobacco growers must generate up to 70 percent of their electricity through diesel-driven generators, according to Rodney Ambrose, chief executive of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association, which represents mostly large-scale farmers.

In a letter to the Ministry of Land, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development, Ambrose asked the government to give farmers access to discounted fuel to help prevent losses to the 2022–2023 tobacco crop and an associated decline in foreign currency earnings.

Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s most lucrative export after gold. In the 2022 marketing season, the country earned $650 million, up from $589 million in 2021.

According to Ambrose, the cost of production per hectare is at a record high in Zimbabwe. The power shortage, he warned, has the potential to increase cost to the point where farmers’ tobacco is no longer competitive.

Zimbabwean farmers have bought at least 925 kg of tobacco seed with the capacity to cover 184,999 ha this year, according to the Tobacco Research Board. This would be the largest hectarage ever planted if all the seed sold is sown.

December 9, 2022

Tag: Zimbabwe