Farmers expect firmer tobacco prices

THE 2024 tobacco marketing season opens today with prospects of firmer prices on the back of tighter supply owing to poor rains.

This year’s opening ceremony will be held this morning at the Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF) where Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga is expected to officiate.

For this marketing season, two auction floors; Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF) and Premier Tobacco Auction Floors (PTAF), have been licenced by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board to buy tobacco. The contract floors, with their far higher inflows, will open tomorrow.

Over 1 000 bales are expected to be at the auction floors today from the self-financed farmers able to use the auctions.

Farmers are expecting better prices as the season progresses. They urged TIMB to deal with middlemen who rip off growers.

Mr Nickson Chatunga of Centenary said farmers should be satisfied with the prices so that they can return in the next production cycle.

He said the effects of El Nino threatened the crop quality, adding that volumes this season were likely to be low.

“So far I am expecting to bring around 10 bales, but last year I sold 22 bales,” said Mr Chatunga.

Another farmer Mr Naison Masuku of Centenary said he was expecting to get payments on time so that he could embark on other production, which needed funding.

“Payment delays can cause disastrous delays in other projects,” he said.

“We also do other productions, hence we are appealing to the authorities to ensure that we get payments on time, side marketing should also be addressed as well as corruption so that we continue sustaining in tobacco farming.”

Mrs Tracy Humbashe of Centenary said the season was not good for farmers, adding that they were expecting reasonable prices from the little they had.

“All the crops this season were affected by the dry spell,” he said.

“Those who have the irrigated crop are going to enjoy their fruits of good fortune, but the majority who relied on rains will not have good money because the crop was greatly affected.

“We are expecting that we get our payments on time so that we buy food for our children and at the same time prepare for the winter wheat.”

Tobacco Farmers Union vice president, Mr Edward Dune, said farmers were geared for the marketing season and a meaningful harvest was expected, although climate change affected the crop. “We can achieve 70 percent of last year’s product,” he said.

“The climate was tricky because some of the crop was compromised by the climate. This is the right time to sell our crops. We want money to circulate because this is the agro-based economy.’’

Recently, Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) chief executive Mr Rodney Ambrose said the early opening of floors was critical for farmers, adding that it would help them to clear loans.

This year, farmers will get 75 percent of their incomes in foreign currency with the remainder being disbursed in local currency. The country is targeting 260 million kg this season and last year farmers produced 297 million kg and generated US$1,2 billion.