Agriculture Reporter
The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) has announced that the 2022 Tobacco Marketing Season will commence next month with both auction and contract floors being opened.
TIMB spokesperson, Ms Chelisani Moyo, announced that auction floors will be opened on 30 March 2022, while contract floors will open the next day.
“The TIMB wishes to inform all stakeholders that the 2022 Tobacco Marketing Season kicks off on the 30th of March 2022 for auction floors and Thursday 31st of March 2022 for contract floors,” said Ms Moyo.
Moyo added that this season there was a slight decline in the number of farmers who grew tobacco owing to a rigorous vetting process by TIMB.
“We registered 122 000 farmers for this season compared to 145 000 mainly due to the fact that TIMB has come up with a framework to bring sanity in the industry to ensure that proper farmers are the ones who are registered. However, the number of Class A buyers registered this year has gone up from 28 in 2021 to 33 this year,” said Moyo.
Tobacco farmers who spoke to this publication said that they were optimistic that the golden leaf would fetch better prices at the market, this year. Mr Enock Chimbudzi of Matepatepa, Bindura, said prices should ensure that farmers will have capital to reinvest in their farming business.
“I’m optimistic that the price will be favourable to the farmer. We are expecting not less than US$4.50 per kilogram. This is a price that will allow the farmer to reinvest in his farming business,” said Chimbudzi.
Meanwhile, the tobacco auction floors have been decentralised across the country in line with the Government’s policy of devolution, the National Development Strategy 1 and Vision 2030.
Tobacco is a key contributor to the country’s foreign currency earnings and the opening of the marketing season is a major boost towards the country’s economic stabilisation efforts.
