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Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE is likely to achieve a tobacco harvest roughly similar to the one realised last year, despite the negative impact of dry spells that affected some crops.
This comes as the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) said it was working on final touches to logistics for the start of the marketing season.
Last week TIMB chief executive officer, Mr Meanwell Gudu, presenting the state of preparedness of the auction floors stressed the need to ensure accountability by all stakeholders for the benefit of the entire sector.
“I think you are aware that the opening of the selling season is slated for the end of this month, as a regulator of the industry, I think we are on course to finalise all the logistics.
“Our inspectorate is busy assessing the ability of auction floors to comply with set provisions in terms of overall trading of the commodity,” Mr Gudu said.
However, tobacco output is expected to largely remain the same as last year or decline marginally from last year’s production levels due to erratic rains this season, industry experts said.
Last year, Zimbabwe produced 202,2 million kilogrammes of the golden leaf valued at US$567 million, but projections indicate almost a similar harvest or slight drop.
Tobacco is a strategically important crop for Zimbabwe as the country’s biggest single non-mineral export earner and, overall, trails only gold and platinum.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) manager Casper Mlambo said it had been a difficult season due to a long dry spell and erratic rains.
“Output could be the same as last season or down by 20 percent. Dry start to the season, plant death, late plantings as well unattractive crop development and later too much rain when it finally came and now dry again, affected leaf development.
“Nevertheless, there is the irrigated crop that managed to be established on time. It developed well,” Mr Mlambo said.
“Contractors should pay farmers their proceeds on time both in the local Zimbabwean dollars and US dollars as per the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) pronouncement, so that they don’t spend days at the point of sale.”
While the TIMB said it had carried out inspections within the authorised auction floors across the country, the need to stamp out side-marketing activities has been cited as key to the success of this year’s selling season.
“The side-marketing activities are a real cause for concern to us, therefore we are working on that to ensure transparency and accountability taking into account the need to ensure there are no leakages while creating a fair or balanced level of trading in line with our regulatory framework,” said TIMB head of inspectorate, Saviour Muvirimi.
According to the TIMB, Zimbabwe is among the top six tobacco producers in the world, accounting for seven per cent of the global supply and boasts of being the fifth-largest tobacco exporter in the world.
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