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Edgar Vhera-Agriculture Specialist Writer
With auction floors now closed, tobacco farmers who produced the crop under contract arrangements have continued their deliveries to the floors earning US$ 77 730 on Day 122 of the 2022 tobacco marketing season.
Statistics released by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) show that a total of 589 bales weighing 51 323 kilogrammes were laid and sold on Day 122.
As the season draws closer to the end, the average price on the day in question was US$1, 51 per kilogramme as the 51 323 kilogrammes of tobacco that were sold managed to generate US$ 77 730.
Since the start of the season, 208 million kilogrammes of flue-cured tobacco valued at US$637 million have been sold at both the auction and contract floors.
A comparative analysis shows that this year’s mass sold is 1, 14 percent less than the corresponding period last year but in value terms it is 8, 18 percent higher.
This is a reflection of better-quality leaf and diminished world supply, which saw this season’s average price rising to US$3, 06 per kilogramme, a 9, 43 percentage point higher than last season’s average of US$2, 79 per kilogramme.
As farmers, particularly those under contract were meticulous in their grading and packaging, there has been a drastic reduction of 13, 49 percent in rejected bales compared to last year.
The bales so far laid down under both contract and auction floor represent a 3, 50 percent slump compared to last year.
The highest price offered on the floors was US$6, 80 per kilogramme, a 1, 49 percent increase from last season’s price of US6, 7.
On the lower end a price of US$0, 10 per kilogramme remained common for both seasons.
The average bale weight at 81kg per bale is 2, 11 percent higher than the preceding period’s average of 79 kg.
A cumulative figure of 2 652 711 bales have been laid under both the auction and contract floors with 2 576 692 of them being sold while 76 019 were rejected this season.
The tobacco value chain contributes significantly to the agriculture Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and export revenues thereby aiding national economic growth. Tobacco production supports up to 160 000 households and accounts for more than 50 percent of agricultural exports and 25 percent of agriculture GDP.
The Government, cognisant of the low hanging fruit attached to tobacco in terms of foreign currency generation, has come up with the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan (TVCTP). The plan is aimed at increasing tobacco value addition and beneficiation from the current 2 percent to 30 percent by 2025.
Online Reporter