Thanks to a 19 per cent rise in average prices, tobacco farmers have already brought in 32 per cent of the USD 897 million they earned last season, reports The Herald.

This season, the average price for the golden leaf went up from USD 3 to USD 3.57 per kilogramme and if it continues to stay at this level, farmers will be able to achieve the USD 897 million they earned las season by selling 251 million kilogrammes of the leaf, reports The Herald.
This could be of importance since the volumes of leaf have declined by 13 per cent from 91,780,298 kgs last season to 79,705,666 kgs this season as a result of the El Nino drought.
So far, Statistics from Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) show that on Day 28 of the marketing season, there has been a 3 per cent increase in tobacco auction and contract sales from USD 275,082,861 last year to USD 284,675,329 this year, reports The Herald.
Tobacco farmers under contract make up 94 per cent of the total sales having sold 75,156,652 kgs of tobacco valued at USD 267,618,173 with an average price of USD 3.56 per kg. The highest price on the auction system lies at USD 5.07 per kg while the highest price at contract floors is USD 6.99 per kg and the lowest price is USD 0.10 per kg.
Farmers have been able to retain the standard 75 per cent of their foreign currency earnings, while the 75/25 split is being applied on net sale proceeds after settlement of all loans, levies and other marketing costs, according to The Herald.
“The 25 percent local currency portion for tobacco farmers will be applied to the net sales proceeds after settlement of levies and other marketing costs and not on the farmer’s gross earnings,” said the TIMB.