Tobacco farmers meet planting deadline

Last season tobacco fetched the highest price of US$4,99 per kilogramme at the auction floors.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers’ Union president Mr Wonder Chabikwa said a few farmers were still planting tobacco.
“Most of the farmers are in areas which include Beatrice, Hurungwe in Mashonaland West and some parts of Mashonaland Central Province.
More than 70 000 farmers have registered to grow tobacco in the 2012/13 season compared to 65 221 last year.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union vice president Mr Berean Mukwende said erratic power supplies remained a major challenge.
“Most farmers have managed to put their crop into the ground and we urge Zesa to spare us on load shedding,” he said.
More than 144 million kg of tobacco worth about US$526 million were sold last year with the contract system contributing the bulk of the deliveries. Though the country missed its production target of 150 million kilogrammes, tobacco farming is slowly rebounding after more than a decade of decline as the country experienced an economic downturn induced by sanctions that Western powers imposed.
China is the biggest buyer of Zimbabwean tobacco including cigarettes, importing a                   total of 33, 8 million kg worth US$245 mil-lion.
The United Arab Emirates and South Africa also large takers importing 12,5 million and 12,7 million kg respectively. — New Ziana.