daniel chigunwe
Edgar Vhera
Agriculture Specialist Writer
THE curtain to the 2023 cotton marketing season came down end of August with farmers now awaiting differential grade payments of between US$0, 01 and US$0,06 per kilogramme.
The 2023 season saw farmers producing 90 million kilogrammes of seed cotton for the four contracting companies.
This is a 60 percent increase from the 56 million kilogrammes produced in 2022.
Statistics released by Agriculture Marketing Authority (AMA) show that the four cotton merchants (Cottco, Alliance Ginneries, Southern Cotton and Zimbabwe Cotton Consortium) purchased 89 629 337 kilogrammes of seed cotton valued at US$29 666 781 and $24 124 886 480.
The prices ranged from US$0, 34 and US$0, 40 per kilogramme plus the local currency component.
Cotton Producers and Marketers Association (CPMA) chairman, Mr Stewart Mubonderi said farmers had finished delivering all seed cotton to their contractors and now await grade-based differential price payments.
“As farmers we are expecting our contractors to display grades attained for all the seed cotton intake. We expect our contractors to start paying grading result adjustment prices,” CPMA chair said.
Government introduced a grade-based pricing model to incentivise production of quality seed cotton after the textile industry raised concerns at last year’s World Cotton Day that it had deteriorated over the years.
Cottco paid all its seed cotton purchases at the Grade D price of US$0, 40 per kilogramme.
After grading any grade C seed cotton will be paid an additional US$0, 01 per kilogramme with grade B on US$0, 03 while grade A gets US$0, 06.
Mr Mubonderi said registration of farmers for the Presidential Inputs Programme was underway with the majority of farmers busy on their field establishing the Pfumvudza/Intwasa plots for the 2023/24 season.
“We are anticipating increased hectarage this coming season as a lot of farmers have expressed their desire to plant cotton. Currently Cottco is regularly paying farmers for seed cotton intake for the just ended season,” Mr Mubonderi said.
Cotton Ginners Association (CGA) acting chairman Mr Caos Nzenze said their members were busy ginning their seed cotton to fulfil their offtake/contractual sales.
“Our members were paying farmers as they purchased the seed cotton and some have started paying grade based differential prices though most of the produce graded was in grade D. We are on the market mobilising funds to contract farmers for the upcoming season,” he said.
Alliance Ginneries, Southern Cotton and Zimbabwe Cotton Consortium have cumulatively bought 20 757 150 kilogrammes of seed cotton.
Meanwhile Cottco accounts for 77 percent of seed cotton purchases after buying 68 872 187 kilogrammes valued at US$23 million and $19 billion.
To date Cottco has paid US$15, 9 million and $148 million.
This year’s seed cotton productivity increased 135 percent from 213 to 501 kilogrammes per hectare.
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