A TOTAL of 1 336 573 kilogrammes of tobacco worth US$4.139 million were sold on the first day at auction and contract floors in the country when the selling season opened last week, statistics from the industry regulator show.
In an update on day one of sale, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) said first day sales went up 301.68 percent from slightly over US$1 million recorded in the same period last year after the sale of 393 279 kg of tobacco.
Of the total volume of tobacco sold, just over one million kilogrammes were sold via the contract system, while the remainder went under the hammer. The average price for auction and contract floors stood at US$3.10 per kg, which is up 18.19 percent from the US$2.62 of the 2023 marketing season.
The highest price stood at US$5.80 per kg while the lowest was at $0.80. Tobacco is the country’s second largest foreign currency earner after gold. Farming of the golden leaf is arguably one of the success stories of agriculture in the post-land reform era.
In 2023, Zimbabwean tobacco farmers produced 296 million kg, the country’s biggest ever crop but this year, output is expected to fall to around 235 million kg owing to the El Nino-induced drought.
Two auction floors, Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF) and Premier Tobacco Auction Floor (PTAF), are operating in the 2024 season. TIMB also approved decentralized contract sales to be conducted at five designated centres in Karoi, Mvurwi, Bindura, Marondera and Rusape. — New Ziana