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Precious Manomano
Herald Reporter
THE Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has announced intentions to adopt tauter measures that include suspending licences for errant companies, as it moves to curb rampant side marketing that threatens the sustainability of tobacco production.
TIMB’s acting chief executive officer, Mr Emmanuel Matsvaire underscored the gravity of the matter saying stringent measures would soon be implemented to address the challenge.
“If any company buys tobacco outside the authorised selling system, its license will be immediately suspended. Unlicenced buyers will also face legal consequences,” he said.
Mr Matsvaire also added that purchasing tobacco without a licence is a criminal offence.
“Side marketing has led to significant revenue losses, as farmers often use growers’ registration numbers that do not belong to them to sell produce and avoid repaying the companies that would have financed their inputs, exacerbating the crisis,” said Mr Matsvaire.
Side marketing has had a profound impact on the operations of various companies countrywide, leading to significant financial losses and even closures.
He added that TIMB’s decision was informed by the need to restore sustainability within Zimbabwe’s multi-billion-dollar tobacco industry, which has been severely affected by rampant side marketing in recent times. TIMB has since deployed inspectors across all eight tobacco-growing provinces.
TIMB has also introduced a new pricing model designed to ensure farmers receive fair compensation rather than remain trapped in cycles of debt.
In recent seasons, contractors have been accused of overpricing inputs and underpaying farmers, prompting many to seek better deals outside formal channels.
The new pricing matrix aims to stabilise tobacco prices and protect farmers from exploitation. Additionally, a biometric system has been implemented to ensure that indebted farmers cannot bypass their obligations by selling tobacco under different identities.
The economic impact of side marketing is significant, prejudicing the industry of over US$57 million annually, which has necessitated urgent intervention.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association (ZTGA) chairman Mr George Seremwe described side marketing as a “cancer” and stressed the importance of continued enforcement of corrective measures by TIMB to ensure both contractors and farmers adhered to their agreements.
“If we manage to curb side marketing, nobody should buy tobacco that they did not finance and we will see the bulk of the tobacco going to the contract floors because it would have been produced under contract arrangements,” he said.
Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development permanent secretary Professor Obert Jiri warned that side marketing could lead to disorder and dysfunctioning within the industry.
“Side marketing is bad. It kills the tobacco industry and we will not achieve anything. TIMB will act to curb the practice,” he said.
The Ministry has promulgated Statutory Instrument 77 of 2022, which prohibits any engagement in side marketing. This legislation gives farmers the option to self-finance or obtain funding from contractors as agreed.
As the 2025 marketing season progresses, prices at the auction floor are also firming by the day.
The highest price on the opening day was US$4, 99 per kilogramme, slightly up from US$4, 98 last year. Approximately 69 475 kilogrammes of the golden leaf were sold for US$205 676 on the first day, compared to 109 948 bales sold for US$339 281 the previous year.
TIMB board chairman, Mr Patrick Devenish was optimistic the season would be successful saying the crop had performed well and Zimbabwean tobacco was now recognised globally as a premium product.
With 31 licenced buyers and 44 contractors, TIMB is also expecting a successful selling season this year alongside a large crop.
Online Reporter