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Tag: Zimbabwe

  • Zimbabwe’s Stalk Destruction Reprieve Expires

    Zimbabwe’s Stalk Destruction Reprieve Expires

    To protect next year’s tobacco crop from pests and disease, Zimbabwe’s Department of Research and Specialist Services (DR&SS) said it will be cracking down on farmers who still haven’t destroyed the stalks and roots from this year’s crop. Because of the late start to the season, the department gave farmers a three-week reprieve that ended June 5.

    “In the event of non-compliance, some fines [$100 per hectare) are imposed as per regulations,” said Dr. Dumisani Kutywayo, chief director  of the DR&SS. “A second or subsequent conviction will attract a fine not exceeding $200 for each hectare or part thereof in respect of which the offense is committed, or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or both fine and imprisonment.”

    The director said all growers were required to adhere to all other dates to prevent the carryover of pests and diseases, however, those who are not able to meet this stipulated deadline are requested to apply for an extension to keep their tobacco in the fields.

    Figures from Zimbabwe’s National Statistics Agency show that tobacco export earnings rose from US$1.3 billion in 2023 to US$1.43 billion last year, with 2025 expected to be even better.

  • Zimbabwe Tobacco Production up 21% 

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Production up 21% 

    According to Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), 220.6 million kg of flue-cured tobacco has been sold for $678.3 million since the marketing season opened March 5, marking a 21% increase from the same period last year.

    The TIMB said 190.3 million kg, worth $641.5 million, had been sold by contract growers, while 10.3 million kg, valued at $36.7 million, was sold through auction floors. The highest price recorded at auction was $4.99 per kg, while contract sales peaked at $6.30 per kg.

    Chelesani Tsarwe, the public affairs officer for TIMB, the decentralization of tobacco production beyond traditional growing provinces would have a substantial impact on the nation’s output.

    “The first sale of Naturally Cured Virginia (NCV) tobacco will take place [May 22] at the Atlas Agri contract floor in Marula, Matabeleland South, and the volumes recorded in Matabeleland are expected to contribute to the national total,” she said. “Efforts are ongoing to enhance transparency and efficiency across the tobacco value chain. TIMB remains committed to ensuring the industry remains viable, inclusive, and globally competitive.”

  • Zimbabwe Posts Single-Day Tobacco Sales Record

    Zimbabwe Posts Single-Day Tobacco Sales Record

    Last Friday (May 9), Zimbabwe set a single-day sales record with 7.2 million kg coming off the auction floor, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). That day also saw a season-high price of $6.20 per kg, significantly better than last year’s best of $5.76.

     “This unprecedented volume reflects the significant progress made by farmers, most of whom have now completed curing and grading,” TIMB said.

    Despite strong sales, around 40% of the crop remains unsold, with many companies still holding substantial volumes, TIMB said. China continues to be the leading importer of Zimbabwean tobacco leaf this year, accounting for 38.8% of total exports since sales began in March.

  • Zimbabwe, Philippines Create Tobacco Pact 

    Zimbabwe, Philippines Create Tobacco Pact 

    Tobacco producers in Zimbabwe and the Philippines have entered into a pact to work together and share expertise. Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s largest agricultural export, generating $1.3 billion from 236 million kg exported in 2024, and is expecting to export 300 million kg this year. Of that, however, 98% of the tobacco is exported raw, allowing manufacturers in 60 other countries to collect much of the profits. The Philippines, on the other hand, processes 46 billion cigarettes domestically each year.

    “This is an ideal opportunity for Zimbabwean farmers and processors,” Musi Muzite, acting executive secretary for Zimbabwe’s National Economic Consultative Forum, said. “We have made significant progress in production, and by leveraging the Philippines’ expertise in processing, we can unlock greater value across the entire tobacco chain.”

    Through the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, Zimbabwe hopes to convert the tobacco manufacturing sector into a $5 billion industry by 2030 by promoting local value addition, increasing domestic funding, and improving infrastructure, such as curing facilities. It also hopes to increase its tobacco exports in the Philippines.

    “We have been in Zimbabwe and our mission is to explore areas where we can collaborate, particularly in the production of tobacco,” Robert Ambrose, the Philippines’ National Tobacco Administration regulatory manager said. “While we have a comparative advantage in processing, Zimbabwe leads in raw tobacco production, and we see great potential in combining our strengths.” 

  • Zimbabwe “Will Reach 280M KG,” Hopes to Process More Domestically

    Zimbabwe “Will Reach 280M KG,” Hopes to Process More Domestically

    Zimbabwe’s 2025 tobacco marketing season is underway, with 85 million kilograms of the crop, valued at $292 million, having gone under the hammer. Farmers are happy but expect prices to continue firming as the season progresses.

    “While the season started slowly, we are witnessing a rise in tobacco deliveries and we are confident we will reach our target of 280 million kg this season,” Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB)’s acting chief executive officer Emmanuel Matsvaire said. “The highest price offered to date has been $6.30/kg, with the average price sitting at $3.43/kg as of April 17. 

    “TIMB is proud to announce a significant milestone in the decentralization of tobacco production in Zimbabwe. For the second consecutive season, tobacco is being successfully grown in Marula, Mangwe district, Matabeleland South. This is an important step in expanding the crop beyond its traditional strongholds in Manicaland and Mashonaland provinces, [with] 122 small-scale farmers growing 84 hectares of Natural Cured Virginia (NCV) tobacco under a contract arrangement with Atlas Agri. The contractor has since established a local tobacco sales floor, which was inspected and approved by TIMB and will operate this marketing season.”

    Despite the overall positives, stakeholders are concerned about side-marketing issues that continue to threaten the industry.

    “Side marketing remains a challenge in the industry,” Matsvaire said. “Some growers sell their tobacco to middlemen, others sell tobacco produced under contract at auction floors using other farmers’ grower numbers. This practice undermines structured markets, while negatively affecting debt and revenue collection, and exposes growers to low value and exploitation.”

    TIMB is also working toward keeping more tobacco processing in the country, as it loses billions of dollars of revenue by exporting semi-processed tobacco. 

    “The target was to increase value addition and beneficiation of tobacco into cut rag and cigarettes production from 2% of total tobacco produced to 30% to increase of exports of cigarettes by 2025, and to date we have achieved 10.15%,” Matsvaire said. “More effort is being put by the government and private partners to increase value addition. Ten cigarette manufacturers with a combined production capacity of around 4.4 billion cigarette sticks per annum are operating in the country.”

  • Zimbabwe: Grower’s Investment in Quality Pays Off

    Zimbabwe: Grower’s Investment in Quality Pays Off

    Thirty days into the marketing season, Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board reminded growers that quality tobacco that is properly grown, cured, conditioned, graded, and baled attracts top prices at the market, and they should handle their tobacco with care at every stage to avoid lamina damage. The board used Pedia Matamisa, a self-financing grower from Murehwa’s Percyvale Farm, as the face of its message.

    Matamisa was a beneficiary of the Land Reform Program under A2 and this year received the highest tobacco price on the auction floor when two of her bales fetched $4.99 per kilogram. Her lowest price was $2.33 per kilogram and she averaged $3.28. She said last year she averaged $1.79.

    Previously using porous, plastic barns to cure, Matamisa said fellow farmers helped her realize that the use of good barns had a bearing on the quality of the leaf and she decided to improve hers. Unable to get a loan, she sold her car to help get the $5,000 she needed to build a “rocket barn.”

    Originally designed in 2008 in Malawi, Kutsaga Research began building the Zimbabwean version of rocket barns in 2011, which not only help provide consistent heat to improve curing quality but also reduce the amount of fuel needed by up to 50%.

    Matamisa also urged other farmers to properly grade their leaves according to size and not mix the short and long ones.

     “I had two bales that were rejected because of these mixing issues,” she said. “Besides the disadvantage of lowering your prices, this also brings additional re-handling costs.”

  • Zimbabwe to Double Shisha Output

    Zimbabwe to Double Shisha Output

    Despite only increasing planted land by 25%, Zimbabwe is expected to see its Shisha crop double in 2025. Mostly being produced under a contract spearheaded by Cavendish Lloyd Zimbabwe Pvt Ltd. (CLZ), the increase in production is being attributed to the adoption of good agronomic practices, collaboration between growers and technicians, and favorable weather conditions.

    “We are projecting a total of 800,000 kilograms of cured Shisha tobacco by the end of the season, a significant increase from last year’s 400,000 kg,” Dr Rebecca Manford, chief executive officer for CLZ said. “The price for the crop has remained strong, with the highest price recorded so far at US$5.75 per kg, an increase from last season’s US$5.70.”

    Shisha was introduced commercially in Zimbabwe in 2022, and last year was negatively impacted by the El Nino drought. The number of growers increased from 65 to 125 this year, yet the land committed only increased from 388 to 485 hectares. Production of the crop has presented farmers with more investment opportunities to widen their farming business as part of the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan.

  • Zimbabwe Growers Warned Against Illegal Tobacco Seeds 

    Zimbabwe Growers Warned Against Illegal Tobacco Seeds 

    Researchers have warned against illegal tobacco seed imports, which could destroy Zimbabwe’s viable tobacco sector, which was recently earmarked to grow to a $5 billion industry. In a recent notice, Kutsaga Research said the institution had received numerous reports of illegal imports and sales of uncertified flue-cured tobacco seed varieties.

    “This includes some unprescribed old fertile lines and varieties and also landraces purportedly sold as Kutsaga hybrids,” Kutsaga officials said. “Unfortunately, growers who have cultivated these varieties have suffered huge economic losses due to their inherently low or poor agronomic attributes which result in crop and leaf that falls short of market standards for flue-cured tobacco.”

    An illegal variety is that which has not been prescribed and approved by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) on the recommendation of the Tobacco Research Board (TRB) for commercial production in Zimbabwe. Kutsaga Research said its unique tobacco attributes were safeguarded by proven and widely adapted locally bred genetics as well as tested and approved foreign varieties.

    Kutsaga said its rigorous industry-wide testing protocols (including agronomic, chemical, smoke quality) guarantee the sought-after quality of all tobacco varieties bred locally or imported in Zimbabwe.

    A farmer from Gutu, Masvingo, is counting his losses after unknowingly buying cigar wrapper type seed from unauthorized and unscrupulous sources, thinking it was flue cured, only to realize the mistake at reaping. The same unfortunate circumstances extended to farmers in Gokwe South and Karoi, who planted varieties that did not align with any recognized tobacco strains.

    Kutsaga Research has warned that growers and merchants will inadvertently suffer financial losses through yield penalties, increased cost in pests and disease control and low value leaf crop (or filler styles).

    “The net effect is that, at the household level, this compromises family income and food security, and at national level, it results in low foreign currency receipts and this goes against the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan and its tenets towards a $5 billion-dollar revenue from the crop,” the institution said.

  • Zimbabwe Tobacco Market Picking Up Steam

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Market Picking Up Steam

    Twenty-three days after Zimbabwe’s tobacco season opened, all parties are reporting to be relatively satisfied with farmers already earning $143 million from 41.6 million kilograms of flue-cured tobacco sold. As is typical for this point in the season, the majority of the tobacco is still in the field, and thus far, the highest-quality product has been scarcely seen.

    According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), 39.2 million kg, valued at $135.2 million, had been sold by contracted growers, while 2.4 million kg, worth $7.7 million, had come from self-financed farmers. Last year, farmers sold 56.7 million kg of flue-cured tobacco valued at $200 million.

    The increase in tobacco production has been attributed to viable prices, an organized market, and the availability of funding through contractors and the government.

    The average price at auction was $3.43 per kg, compared to $3.53 last year, but growers are confident that the price will continue to rise as they grade and bail the best of their product.

    “The participation of merchants has really improved,” said Sam Garabha, operations manager for Premier Tobacco Auction Floors. “Our farmers are quite happy and excited with the offers they are receiving at the auction floors, although we expect better quality. During the past week, we were receiving lower and middle grades, but, as the harvest continues, we are noticing significant improvements in prices.”

    Source: “The Sunday Mail”, Harare; 6 Apr 2025

    Farmers pocket US$143m as auction activity picks up
  • Zimbabwe Court Approves Urgent Hearing in Pacific Cigarette Tax Dispute

    Zimbabwe Court Approves Urgent Hearing in Pacific Cigarette Tax Dispute

    Pacific Cigarette Company secured approval from Zimbabwe’s High Court for an urgent hearing after it entered into voluntary business rescue over a $19 million tax dispute. The demand from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) rendered Pacific insolvent, threatening the operations of the nation’s second-largest indigenous tobacco producer.

    The case centers on whether the tax obligations imposed on Pacific during its corporate rescue contravene established insolvency protections or represent enforceable liabilities under Zimbabwean law.

    Pacific argues that the tax demand infringes insolvency protection and so its formal request for a tax clearance certificate from ZIMRA should be granted. The authority, through its tax and revenue management system, established conditions for issuing such certificates in 2023, which Pacific asserts it complied with yet faces contested liabilities following ZIMRA’s revised taxation approach for toll manufacturers. This change saddled Pacific with the disputed tax obligations, compounded by ZIMRA’s garnishment of its bank accounts to make sure the money was paid.

    Justice Gibson Mandaza recognized the urgency of Pacific’s application and directed the case to proceed. He said the draft order under challenge required adjudication on its merits, specifically concerning whether a company under corporate rescue is exempt from tax obligations. The court acknowledged that corporate rescue, a process governed by insolvency laws, aimed to enable companies to reorganize their affairs without undue liabilities and needed to be assessed on a case-by-case basis and could not be presumed at the earlier stages.