Tobacco growers sell 143m kg

Last year 145 million kilogrammes were sold when the season closed after 145 days of sales.
Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri said deliveries at the auction floors had declined although they were still high at the contract floors.

“We are still confident we will get to the 170 million kg mark that we set as the target,” he said.
Dr Matibiri said Mashonaland West had sold the highest volumes of tobacco since February.

The province planted 27 995 hectares of tobacco with 24 491 growers selling 49 million kg valued at US$183 million.

Mashonaland Central planted 26 320 hectares with 24 322 growers selling 40 million kg of the crop worth US$147 million.

Mashonaland East saw 13 926 growers selling 30,4 million kilogrammes from the 18 080 hectares of tobacco planted. Farmers in the province have earned a collective US$115 million.

Manicaland farmers have earned US$74 million from the 21 million kg of tobacco.
More than 14 000 farmers planted 15 081 hectares.

Midlands province planted 518 hectares of tobacco and sold 325 086 kg worth US$1,1 million.
Masvingo farmers planted 107 hectares of tobacco and have since sold 63 000 kg worth US$203 589.

Zimbabwe has more than 90 000 registered growers and more than 82 percent of these are small-scale growers who produce tobacco on 1-2 hectares.

The tobacco sector employs more than 1,2 million people with close to six million dependants.
This translates to almost half of the Zimbabwean population.

Tobacco production has been on the increase with 170 million kg expected this marketing season.