Flue-cured tobacco
Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
REGISTRATION for flue-cured tobacco growers’ for the 2017/18 summer cropping season has increased by 39 percent to 91 693, data from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) shows.
During the same period last year, 65 750 growers had registered with TIMB for the 2016/17 cropping season.
TIMB indicated that as of October 18, a total of 45 707 communal farmers from all the country’s seven tobacco growing regions had registered to grow the crop in the upcoming farming season.
A total of 34 757 A1 farmers have so far registered to grow flue-cured tobacco in the next farming season while 5 829 A2 growers have also registered.
The marketing board also indicated that 5 400 small-scale commercial farmers have so far registered for the 2017/18 cropping season. Agronomist Ms Stacy Chiware said the number of registered tobacco growers was expected to surge due to favourable prices at the auction floors.
“With regards to tobacco growers registration, Zimbabwe has since 2009 been improving on the numbers. We expect the upward trajectory to continue in the 2017/18 season and beyond because of the favourable prices auction floors continue to offer,” she said.
Zimbabwe’s tobacco growing regions are Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central, Manicaland, Masvingo, Midlands and Matabeleland, which is slowly venturing into growing the golden leaf with three farmers having registered so far. Since 2009, the golden leaf has been pivotal in improving liquidity supply in the economy.
The country is grappling with a tight liquidity situation since the adoption of a multi-currency regime introduced in February 2009. Meanwhile, tobacco exports since January this year have raked in $489.2 million from 133.3 million kilogrammes exported to different parts of the world at an average price of $4.32 a kg.
During the same period last year, tobacco exports generated $440 million from 89.6 million kg sold at an average of $4.91 a kg. China, which traditionally is the largest consumer of flue-cured tobacco from Zimbabwe, has so far spent $167.5 million importing $21.1 million kg of the golden leaf at an average price of $7.93 a kg.
Sixty-one countries were importing the golden leaf from Zimbabwe compared to 56 during the same period last year.
South Africa, Belgium, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Georgia, Algeria, Spain, Seychelles, Morocco and the Netherlands are some of the countries that have so far consumed flue-cured tobacco from Zimbabwe.
@okazunga