Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The new tobacco selling season starts this Wednesday and the opening ceremony will be held this morning at the Tobacco Sales Floor in Harare. Contract sales open tomorrow.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has licensed the three traditional auction floors in Harare, namely Boka Tobacco Floors, Tobacco Sales Floor and Premier Tobacco Floors.
The Zimbabwe Tobacco Association (ZTA) said that though some buyers may reject disease-affected and thinner crops, demand for tobacco remains high.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) recently announced that tobacco growers will be paid 60 per cent of their earnings in foreign currency.
The remaining 40 per cent will be paid in local currency using the auction rate.
This season farmers were pushing for up to 80 per cent foreign currency retention from last year’s 50-50.
Meanwhile, TIMB has put in regulations that merchants must abide by before they are registered.
About 200 million kilogrammes of tobacco are expected to be delivered to the auction floors this season, up from 184 million kilogrammes sold by farmers last season.
