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Agriculture Reporter
Tobacco growers will now have their defective bales re-handled at the auction floors unlike in previous seasons when they sorted them on their own. The bales would have been rejected by buyers for defects like being too wet, having mixed hands, or being mouldy or too dry.
Tobacco growers complained over the arrangement saying they had the right to decide what to do with the rejected bales.
Hurungwe farmer Mr Abel Matemai said, “Can you imagine I have to spend more days camped at the auction floor waiting for a single bale. I can choose to take my bales back home and bring them later but the auction floor officials are refusing with our bales.”
Karoi farmer Ms Venna Chinoda said she was told to get a letter from TIMB if she wanted to get her bale back.
“I was told to approach the TIMB to get a letter to redeem my bale from the auction floor. The arrangement is making our life difficult,” she said.
Boka Tobacco Floors operations manager Mr Moses Bias said auction floors received an instruction from the TIMB to withhold defective bales for re-handling.
“We are following the TIMB instruction to send rejected bales automatically to the grading shed.
“The farmer will have to sign another contract for re-handling and this is meant to avoid double handling,” he said.
He said this was done after realising that some farmers were not re-handling rejected bales properly, and some were subsequently rejected more than three times.
The bales would lose weight and quality in the process. resulting in lower prices.
Tobacco Sales Floor managing director Mr James Mutambanesango said the arrangement was within the farmers’ interest.
“We would like to reduce middlemen. TSF does not re-handle the rejected bales but we have officials approved by the TIMB to do the task and we monitor the process,” he said.
TIMB chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri confirmed that farmers were no longer allowed to take their rejected bales but could only be given back if they reject the price.
He said last season farmers with defective bales ended up selling tobacco to middlemen outside the auction floors.
The middlemen would buy at unviable prices and would sell the repacked bales at high prices at the auction floors.
“This is in the interest of farmers. Farmers are free to follow up with their bales,” he said.
Online Reporter