More farmers take up tobacco farming
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
January 18, 2013 in Business
MORE Zimbabwean farmers have taken up tobacco growing in the current season,
as the golden leaf promises to fetch high prices on the international
markets.
Report by Taurai Mangudhla
Leading US-based farming publication, the Tobacco Farmer Newsletter (TFN),
recently noted a likely improvement in tobacco prices in 2013 as a result of
various market factors, including a deficit caused by poor to mediocre
quality of flue-cured tobacco in Brazil and the US in the previous two
successive seasons.
“Also, it may be that Brazil has hit a ceiling on the amount of
flavour-style flue-cured it can produce. If so, then increased demand for
flavour-style flue-cured will have to be met with increased production in
the US and Zimbabwe,” said TFN, adding tobacco buyers also indicated
optimism for the flue-cured market beyond the 2012 crop and were actively
seeking ways to retain current growers and increase production.
Flavour-style flue-cured tobacco is grown mainly in the US and Brazil, with
Zimbabwe re-emerging after the collapse of its agriculture sector following
its fast -track land reform of 2000.
The publication said consequently, global supplies of premium flue-cured
tobacco were currently low even though overall supplies were up. According
to TFN, there was an anticipated increase in demand for flue cured tobacco
mainly because of increased cigarette production in China.
“The global trend toward banning flavourings in cigarettes may increase the
amount of flavour-style flue-cured needed in blends to compensate for no
flavourings.”
Last week, Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) reported that
the country expected to produce 170 million kgs of tobacco in the current
season after 77 910 hectares of land had been put under the crop, 38% up
from 56 377 hectares last season.
TIMB CEO Andrew Matibiri said more than 65 000 farmers had registered to
grow and sell the lucrative crop this season compared to 34 673 last season.
Last year, Zimbabwe’s tobacco exports raked in US$771 million at an average
of US$5,94 per kg. The crop is expected to drive economic growth.
The World Bank recently said Zimbabwe’s economic crisis led to the collapse
of the agriculture sector which used to contribute 20,7 % of its GDP in the
1990s.
While the sector is slowly recovering, there is much variation in the
recovery among commodities and farm types, the World Bank said.
“The 2009-2011 growth was led by tobacco, produced increasingly by
smallholders in new contract farming arrangements, and supported by high
international prices, with a strong performance of the cotton sector, where
higher prices have favourably acted on expanded contract farming
arrangements,” said the institution in its overview note on Zimbabwe’s
Growth Recovery.
Maize and poultry have also come close to recovery of pre-crisis production
levels while all other commodities remain far from recovery, with crops such
as wheat remaining a small fraction of peak 1990 levels due to poor access
to credit and erratic power supply.