2024 tobacco exports reach US$28 million
AFTER ending 2023 on record export earnings of US$1, 2 billion, the golden leaf has picked from where it left, grossing in US$28m as at January 12 up from US$25m during the corresponding period in 2023. This marks a 15 percent increase.
Statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) weekly report dated January 12 show that 6 099 694 kilogrammes of tobacco worth US$28 245 998 have been exported at an average price US$4,63 per kilogramme against last year’s 5 318 326 kilogrammes valued at US$24 576 259 whose average price was US$4,62.
China, Indonesia and Armenia are the largest recipients of the country’s tobacco after taking delivery of 50 percent of the product (3 043 200 kilogrammes) worth US$19 315 890.
As a result of high product prices, especially paid by the Chinese market, earnings from the top three importing countries account for 68 percent of the country’s export earnings.
The Chinese market had the highest average price of US$8, 39 per kilogramme, a repeat of the trend from last year when it offered US$8,33.
The report shows that the lowest price during this time period last year was US$1,81 per kilogramme and this has declined to US$0,14 in 2024 for exports to Belgium.
Meanwhile, the report also revealed that there has been a six percent decline in area planted from 118 326 hectares in 2023 to 110 795 this year. Midlands and Mashonaland Central provinces have surpassed their targeted hectarages by 13 and four percent respectively this year in comparison to last year.
After the country extended the tobacco seedbed destruction date to January 15, due to delay in the start of the rainfall season, from the legislated December 31 date, it remains to be seen how this year’s hectarage will fare against last year’s.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) chief executive officer Mr Rodney Ambrose said most farmers completed planting their crop last week and to date the crop was looking very satisfactory.
“Any outbreaks of pests and diseases have been effectively handled by farmers, with technical advice from Kutsaga. The predominant activities on many farms are curing of the irrigated crop and general management of the dryland crop,”he said.
Mr Ambrose said it was still too early to determine crop estimates, as weather patterns remained variable across many tobacco growing areas.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association (ZTGA) chairman Mr George Seremwe concurred, saying most farmers had finished planting and were busy weeding.
“General maintenance activities of the crop such as suckering and reaping of primings are in progress. Some areas received too much rains that resulted in leaching of fertilisers but the crop is generally looking good,” Mr Seremwe said.
For this season the national tobacco target is 148 500 hectares. The country achieved its largest tobacco crop last season when 296 million kilogrammes of the leaf was produced surpassing the previous high of 259 million kilogrammes in 2019.
The crop yield of over 2 500 kilogrammes per hectare achieved last year was the largest over the past 22 years, an indication of the success of the land reform programme.