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the traditional auction floors, especially early in the selling season, as the floors were congested.
The opening of more auction floors is expected to ease pressure next year.
According to the TIMB’s latest weekly bulletin, of the 20 applications received, only one company had submitted completed forms.
The board had set a deadline of July 1, 2011 for the submission of forms but by end of June, only Premier Tobacco Auction Floors had submitted the completed application forms.
The board has, however, indicated that it would continue to consider applications even after the deadline.
Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made, urged the board to move with speed to issue licenses to deserving applicants so that there would be many auction floors operating next season.
“An increase in auction floors will decongest the auction floors although it does not mean farmers will get higher prices for their crop,” he said.
There has been a continuous increase in the number of farmers growing tobacco every season. So far more than 17 000 new growers have registered to grow the crop next season.
This has led to an increase in pressure for inputs such as wrapping material, while the auction floors have been heavily congested.
To address the challenges, TIMB licensed other six companies to sell hessian bags and encouraged decentralisation of the floors. However, last season no company applied for decentralisation. Nevertheless there are possibilities that some auction floors may be opened outside Harare.
Online Reporter