Farmers get US$59m from 20 million kg of tobacco

Zim Now Writer

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has revealed that earnings from the golden leaf declined by 15 percent from the US$69 million recorded during the 2022 season.

This comes after TIMB said Day 13 of the 2023 tobacco marketing season saw farmers pocketing US$59 million from the sale of 20 million kilogrammes of tobacco.

The current average price of US$3.01 is five percent higher than last year’s US$2.86 while the average the contract floors’ average price of US$3.04 per kilogramme is eight percent higher than that at the auction floors at US$2.80 per kilogramme.

TIMB revealed that auction floor prices were maintained and it remained at US$4.99 per kilogramme and the lowest price earned this year is the same as that of last year at US$0.10 per kilogramme.

This year’s highest contract price of US$5.50 per kilogramme is still lower than last year’s US$6.50.

Government’s 85 percent foreign currency retention, has resulted in growers earning US$50 million in their foreign currency accounts with the balance being paid in local currency at the prevailing interbank rate on the different dates.

The average bale weight has shown a nine percent increase to 82 kilogrammes up from 75 last season.

Various players within the tobacco industry predict that over 230 million kilogrammes of flue-cured tobacco will be sold this year.