Chronicle Editor
Oliver Kazunga, Acting Business Editor
TOBACCO growers’ registration for the 2017/18 cropping season has increased by 40 percent to 113 530 from 81 172 during the comparable period last year.
Latest statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) also show that the number of registered new growers was up by 129 percent to 32 622 as of January 4, 2018 compared to 14 231 last year.
From the 113 530 registered tobacco growers, 56 993 were communal farmers while A1 and A2 farmers constituted 42 641 and 7 328 respectively.
Small-scale registered commercial tobacco growers constituted 6 568.
Since 2009, the number of tobacco growers in Zimbabwe has been improving and the upward trajectory was expected to continue in the 2017/18 season and beyond.
In terms of new registered tobacco farmers, as at January 4, communal growers were 18 631 while A1 and A2 were 11 885 and 1 204 respectively.
Small-scale commercial farmers were 902.
The golden leaf is one of the country’s major foreign currency earners generating about $904 million in export receipts last year, slight decrease from $933 million realised in 2016.
As of January 3, 2018 tobacco export figures from TIMB were indicating that 495 000 kilogrammes valued $1.4 million at an average price of $2.92 a kg had been exported to five countries which are South Africa, Belgium, Germany, Indonesia and Vietnam.
During the corresponding period last year, 297 000 kg were exported generating $1.4 million at an average price of $4.63 a kg.
Last year, more than 60 countries across the world including Georgia, Belgium, Indonesia, Seychelles, Spain, Morocco, Taiwan, United States of America, Indonesia, Romania, Zambia, Botswana, Germany, Lebanon, and Nigeria imported flue-cured tobacco from Zimbabwe.
@okazunga
Online Reporter