Online Reporter
Elita Chikwati-Agriculture News Editor
THE 2026 tobacco marketing season will officially open next month on March 4, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has announced.
The opening of the marketing season will coincide with the official launch of the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan 2.
TIMB chief executive, Mr Emmanuel Matsvaire, yesterday said contract tobacco sales will open on Thursday, March 5.
“The above date has been approved by the Honourable Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Jongwe Masuka.
“A brief ceremony to mark the official opening of the 2026 Tobacco Marketing Season, together with the official launch of the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan 2, will be held at the Tobacco Sales Floor. Stakeholders are encouraged to take note of the above dates and prepare accordingly,” he said.
The Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan 2 prioritises local financing, aims to boost value addition and seeks to increase production to 500 million kilogrammes annually by 2030.
The ministry is confident that this transformation will strengthen the economy and improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and their families.
Meanwhile, most tobacco farmers are in the process of reaping, curing and grading their crop in preparation for sales.
This season, more than 400 million kilogrammes of tobacco are expected to pass through the hammer.
Last season, farmers sold 355 million kilogrammes of tobacco worth US$1,2 billion.
Farmer organisations have advised farmers to sell their crop through formal channels to get value for their crop.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association (ZTGA) president, Mr George Seremwe, recently said farmers should be patient and wait for the opening of the floors to sell their crop rather than selling to middlemen.
“We are encouraging growers to be wary of the middlemen who tend to come and offer immediate cash and shortchange them in prices,” he said.
“There are fake US dollars out there, so we do not want our farmers to lose their hard-earned tobacco to those conmen,” he said.
Zimbabwe National Farmers union president, Mrs Monica Chinamasa, advised farmers to sell their crop through the auction floors where they get better prices.
“We also urge contractors to seriously open decentralised floors nearer farmers to reduce transport costs,” she said.
The TIMB said the industry had made progress in preparing for a flawless marketing season.
This season, the focus will be on regulatory compliance, licensing of buyers and readiness of auction and contract floors.
The crop outlook for 2026 is positive, supported by increased hectarage, improved crop establishment and sustained farmer confidence.
TIMB statistics show that 113 327 farmers have registered as growers and of these, 96 792 are contracted.
Farmers planted 164 536 hectares, an increase of 15 percent from the 143 025 ha during the same period last year.
