The new electronic system for auctioning tobacco failed to go live as marketing season began with an opening price near USD 4.50 (EUR 4.23) per kg, News24 reported.

Traders used the old manual system to begin auctioning a tobacco crop that Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said he hoped would spur the country’s economic growth, according to the online news site. There have been concerns about the quality of this year’s crop, News24 said.
Expectations for the current crop at 205 million kgs represent a modest increase from 202 million kgs last season, Reuters said in a report citing Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board spokesman Isheunesu Moyo.