Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has seen a 45% increase in tobacco earnings this selling season to over US$890 million, with a week left for the closure of tobacco auction floors.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board spokesperson, Mrs. Chelesani Moyo Tsarwe, has commented that the focus is now on increasing output and consolidating current gains. She said:
The 2022/ 2023 tobacco selling season has been progressing very well as of day 90 TIMB had recorded a total of 290 million kgs of tobacco valued at US$880 million, this is the highest ever volumes of tobacco ever recorded in Zimbabwe this is in comparison to 198 million kgs of tobacco recorded during the same period last year and was valued at US$605 million, deliveries at the floors are now low and stakeholder consultations are underway on the official closure of the floors.
The trajectory is partly attributed to government interventions. Tobacco is a strategic element for socio-economic development, and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe ranks the golden leaf among the top five foreign currency-earning commodities for the country. The sector’s growth is expected to continue, as the country seeks to develop and strengthen its agricultural industry.
Zimbabwe has a long history of tobacco farming, and the crop has been one of the major foreign currency earners for the southern African country for many years. However, production and earnings have been low in the past two decades due to challenges such as fluctuations in global tobacco prices, the impact of climate change, and limited access to credit.
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