On day 21 of the tobacco auctions in Zimbabwe, the value of tobacco crop sold has increased by an incredible 206 per cent, reports News Day.

The statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board also show that a total of 44.87 million kilogrammes of tobacco have been delivered so far which is up 138 per cent compared to the 18.8 million kilogrammes delivered during the same period in 2019.
Although the sales are on the rise, tobacco growers are struggling to regroup their investment which is due to problems with the exchange rate. Local tobacco growers are paid half of their sale proceeds in forex and the other half in local currency with an exchange rate of USD 1:25 which is way below the market rate of around USD 1:65, according to News Day.
“Exchange rate is our biggest challenge. Yes, farmers are paid using a mockery 1:25. That is going to affect next season. We approached the central bank and we are still waiting for their response,” George Seremwe, president of the Tobacco Association of Zimbabwe, said.
“We are encouraging those who can delay selling their tobacco to do so while waiting for response from Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. We cannot continue selling with this payment system which erodes the tobacco producers’ earnings, with imports being pegged at parallel market rates,” he continued.