Growers in the Burma Valley have produced 24,500 kg of cigar wrapper tobacco in the 2018 marketing season as the result of a partnership between German tobacco company Von Eicken and the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), The Herald reported.
Von Eicken, which is funding the crop, purchased 11 tonnes of cigar wrapper tobacco during the crop’s first marketing season in 2016, and 20 tonnes of the leaf was purchased by the company in 2017, the newspaper reported.
Lindsay Guild, technical advisor at Zimbabwe Cigar Tobacco Wrapper Project, commented, "We have seen an improvement this year in terms of growth since inception. The highest grade being grade 1 with 96 per cent produced by our growers and a 92 per cent for all the best grades which are grade 1, 2, and 3. Our farmers have been working hard and are dedicated," he said.
Guild said the Burma Valley is the only location in the country suitable for growing cigar wrapper tobacco and he hopes the market for the crop will continue to increase.
Prices fetched for the highest grade of the crop were USD 6.50 (EUR 5.62) and the lowest price was USD 0.75 per kg, which Guild said was an increase of USD 0.50 over the lowest prices fetched last season.