Tag: Zimbabwe

Flue-cured-tobacco grower-prices are down from where they were last year on Zimbabwe’s contract and auction markets, according to a story in The Herald relayed by the TMA.

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board said recently that 144 million kg of flue-cured tobacco had been sold so far this selling season for US$416 million.

This compares with the 127 million kg that had been sold for US$370 million during the equivalent period of last year.

So the average price was down from US$2.91 per kg in 2016 to US$2.89 per kg this year.

According to the TIMB, the contract floors had accounted for 117 million kg of flue-cured tobacco having been sold for US$338 million, or US$2.89 per kg, so far this season.

The auction floors, meanwhile, had reportedly accounted for the sale of 27 million kg for US$78 million, also at an average of $2.89.

Meanwhile, an opinion piece in the Zimbabwe Herald that welcomed the success of the country’s farmers in producing what was expected to be another flue-cured crop in excess of 200 million kg, also sounded a warning.

‘But as the country celebrates this remarkable achievement by our tobacco farmers, there is a greater need to strike a sustainable balance between the country’s economic interests and those of the environment,’ the piece said.

‘A majority of the farmers who have taken up tobacco growing as a business rely on firewood to cure the crop, but at a huge cost to the environment. They don’t have woodlots for this purpose. They are decimating indigenous trees at a time when the world is concerned about the environment and climate change, and its impact on our future.

‘This is clearly not sustainable as it is very difficult to replace the precious indigenous trees which face the prospect of being wiped out if deliberate efforts are not taken to control their use.’

Flue-cured tobacco prices in Zimbabwe are so far running at two percent below those of 2016, according to a story by Michael Tome for the Zimbabwe Daily.

The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) reported that after 36 days of sales, ‘at least’ 104 million kg of tobacco had been sold through both the contract and auction systems for US$293 million.

The average price of US$2.81 was down from US$2.87 in 2016.

Meanwhile, the TIMB said that daily deliveries of tobacco had increased to four million kg from three million kg earlier in the sales season.

In February, the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union said it expected flue-cured tobacco prices to be ‘favorable’ this year.

The quality of the crop was said to be excellent and so grower prices, which were said by buyers to be based on quality, should be excellent also.

At that time, growers believed that prices ranging between $4.00 and $5.00 per kg would be favorable.

Such prices, they said, would allow them to break even and to continue producing flue-cured tobacco next season.

In 2015 and 2016, the average price paid to Zimbabwe’s flue-cured tobacco growers was about $2.93 per kg.

So far this year, Zimbabwe has earned US$214.7 million exporting 45.6 million kg of flue-cured tobacco at an average price of about US4.70.

Flue-cured tobacco growers in Zimbabwe had delivered 70.4 million kg of tobacco since the marketing season started on March 15, up 28 percent from the that delivered during the corresponding period of last year, according to a TMA abstract of a bh24.co.zw story.

It wasn’t clear from the abstract what was the latest sales day that the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) sales data covered, but the bh24 story was dated May 1.

Contract sales, which accounted for 56 million kg of the total sales, were said to have been worth US$155.0 million, giving an average price of US$2.77 per kg.

Auction sales, which accounted for 14 million kg of the total, were said to have been worth US$38.5 million, giving an average price of US$2.46 per kg.

Unusually, no comparative figures showing last year’s sales data were provided.

However, reports in May 2016 after just more than 60 million kg had been sold had the TIMB saying that the average price had increased by 2.2 percent to US2.82 per kg (61.2 million kg sold for US$172.4 million) during the first 30 days of the 2016 sales season, from US$2.76 per kg (42.8 million kg sold for US$118.0 million) during the same period of 2015.

The highest contract price paid during the first 30 days of the 2016 selling season was US$6.25 per kg, whereas the highest auction price was US$4.99 per kg.

The Bulawayo Chronicle reported last year that the 2015 flue-cured marketing season had closed with growers having been paid an average of US$2.94 per kg for 191.9 million kg.

In 2014, growers had sold 209.1 million kg for an average price of US$3.17 per kg.

Flue-cured tobacco production in Zimbabwe is expected to increase during the 2017-18 season with seed sales having registered a 309-percent increase on those of last year, according to a story in The Herald.

Tobacco Industry Marketing Board statistics show that growers have bought 14,575 grams of tobacco seed, up from the 3,565 grams that were bought by farmers during the corresponding period of last year.

The Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Wonder Chabikwa said the rise in seed sales indicated that there could be an increase in production of the crop next season.

“Farmers are finding it viable to grow tobacco which is a positive indication,” he was quoted as saying.

“However, we should make sure farmers remain motivated to grow the crop.

“It is unfortunate that farmers are experiencing cash challenges this season and spending days at the floors.

“We should not dampen farmers’ spirits,” he said.

There was no indication of why the increase in seed sales had been over 300 percent.

And there was no indication of how such an increase was likely to be reflected in the size of the crop produced.

The number of tobacco growers in Zimbabwe has increased by 15 percent to 81,301 this farming season, reports The Chronicle, quoting statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).

During the same period last year 70,412 farmers had registered to grow the golden leaf.

The 2016-2017 farming season has so far recorded 14,283 new growers with a total of 91,805 hectares having been put under tobacco.

At present, 76,775 ha are under dry land tobacco while 15,030 are under irrigation.

During the same period last year, 87,755 ha were planted under tobacco.

The golden leaf is one of Zimbabwe’s major foreign currency earners and last year the crop generated about $933 million from 164.5 million kilograms that were exported to 65 countries around the world at an average price of $5.67 a kilogram.

The government in Zimbabwe says it is prepared to open flue-cured tobacco auction floors next month – once farmers are ready to deliver their leaf, according to a story in The Chronicle.

The Minister of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development, Dr. Joseph Made, was said to have told ZBC News that tobacco auction floors were ready to open in February as long as farmers could deliver enough crop to kick start the marketing season.

The move by the government to open auction floors earlier this year than was the case last year has been welcomed by farmers.