Lovemore Zigara, Midlands Correspondent
LOCAL cotton processing and marketing firm Cottco has so far paid $74 400 towards cotton price adjustment for deliveries made last year.
Cottco paid 35 cents per kilogramme (kg) for 10 800 tonnes of cotton delivered to the company last year and made an undertaking to pay a pricing adjustment based on the quality of the crop.
Cottco is paying 10 cents to make 45 cents for Grade A cotton while an adjustment of six cents will be made for Grade B cotton and four cents for Grade C.
Grade D cotton is being paid two cents price adjustment.
The company’s managing director Mr Pious Manamike told Business Chronicle that the process of paying up the adjustments has been slowed by farmers that do not have bank accounts or mobile money transfer facilities.
“We have so far paid out $74 400 as prices adjustment for the crop we received last season and the exercise is still ongoing. We have had challenges with some farmers since they do not have bank accounts to enable us to transfer their money,” he said.
He said the company had also advised farmers to register for mobile money transfer services so that their money could be tranferred.
Mr Manamike said of the 10 800 tonnes delivered last year the grade profiles from last season were four percent for Grade A, nine percent for Grade B with grade C contributing 48 percent of the total crop. Grade D stood at 39 percent of cotton delivered.
“With the full inputs package we gave this year we expect better grades. We are also encouraging farmers to pre-grade before baling their cotton,” said the Cottco boss.
He said the company has contracted about 150 000 farmers with 300 000 hectares of the crop having been planted. The company disbursed cotton inputs under the Presidential Cotton Free Inputs Scheme and so far 6 000 tonnes of cotton seed and basal fertiliser have been distributed, which is enough to cover the hectorage planted this season.
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