Zimbabwean farmers have earned USD 602 million from the sale of 197 million kgs of tobacco since marketing season opened in March, reports The Herald.

The 2022 tobacco auction marketing season officially ended on 20 July, but resales will continue every Wednesday until all farmers have sold their crop. However, contracted growers are
still selling their tobacco.

According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), 90 per cent of the tobacco has been sold through the contract floors. TIMB’s latest statistics show that on day 88, contracted growers had sold 184.7 million kilogrammes of tobacco worth USD 561.6 million while 12.4 million kilogrammes had been sold by self-financed farmers.

The 2021/22 tobacco season was characterised by late rains and dry periods which affected the quantity and quality of tobacco. TIMB CEO Meanwell Gudu said the target may not be achieved due to the bad rainfall season.