The 2022 tobacco auction season in Zimbabwe officially opened on 30 March with good quality tobacco leaf expected this year, reports Xinhua.

The highest price was USD 4.60 per kg, a bit higher than last year's USD 4.30. Speaking at the official opening of the marketing season in Harare, Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Anxious Masuka said better quality was expected despite the difficult weather conditions experienced this season. He said that the government was committed to creating an enabling environment for tobacco growers and the industry as a whole to increase production. "Tobacco remains a key crop for the country's economy, contributing exports of more than 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, but this excludes the indirect economic activities that are associated with providing services related to production, logistics, marketing and exporting the crop," he said.
According to the official, tobacco farmers will be paid 75 per cent of their sales revenue in foreign currency this year, up from 60 per cent last year.
In addition, the government is at the forefront of the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, which aims to transform Zimbabwe's tobacco value chain into a USD 5 billion industry by 2025, the report said. The plan, unveiled last year, aims to increase primary production to 300 million kilogrammes by 2025, localise financing for small-scale producers and increase value addition from 2 per cent of total tobacco production to more than 30 per cent.