Tobacco sales rake in $719m

THE 2018 tobacco sales have raked in $719 million as farmers continue to deliver their crop at the contract floors following the official closing of the marketing season last week.

Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) latest statistics show an increase of 35 percent in the volume of tobacco sold compared to the crop sold during the same period last year.

The latest statistics show that higher volumes were sold through the contract floors than auction floors.

Farmers sold 35 million kilogrammes of tobacco worth $98 million through the auction floors, while 210 million kilogrammes worth $621 million were sold through contract floors.

The highest price offered at the contract floors is $6,25 per kilogramme compared to the $4,99 per kilogramme that was offered at the auction floors.

Figures released by the TIMB show that there has been an increase in the number of bales rejected in comparison to last years.

So far 162 873 bales have been rejected, while 142 550 were rejected last year.

TIMB said the bales were usually rejected for being overweight or underweight, too wet or too dry, mouldy, mixed hands or when farmers refused to sell the tobacco for personal reasons.

The official tobacco marketing season closed on July 27 although some contract farmers are still delivering their crop to their respective funders.

Government has extended the Tobacco Contract Model to the Special Maize Production programme commonly known as Command Agriculture, which recently has been extended to cover wheat, soya beans, livestock, fisheries and wildlife production.

Tobacco has earned a strategic position in the Zimbabwean economy because of its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product and foreign currency earnings.

More than three million people depend on the tobacco industry for their livelihoods, hence Government’s decision continue to support the sector.