Online Reporter
Martin Kadzere
The 2026 tobacco marketing season officially opened today at the Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF).
It commenced with the season’s first bale fetching US4.60 per kg, a slight decrease from last year’s opening price of US4.65.
The Minister of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment Promotion, Professor Mthuli Ncube, presided over the ceremony, emphasising the sector’s role in national growth.
Another major highlight of the event was the official launch of the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan 2 (TVTP 2) by Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Minister Dr Anxious Masuka.
The new policy roadmap sets an ambitious target to scale national tobacco production to 500 million kg by 2030.
To maximise domestic earnings, the plan seeks to increase local funding to 70 percent, reducing the current heavy reliance on offshore financing.
Government also aims to boost local value addition to 30 percent, moving away from the export of raw leaf.
The TVTP 2 is expected to transform the golden leaf from a primary commodity into a fully integrated, multi-billion-dollar industrial value chain.
