Tobacco marketing season opens today amid bumper crop

Source: The Herald – Breaking news.

 Mr Patrick Devenish

Zvamaida Murwira and Precious Manomano

This year’s tobacco’s marketing season kicks off today, with the opening ceremony slated for Tobacco Sales Floor in Harare this morning while contract sales, which will handle 95 percent of the crop, will open tomorrow.

Tobacco’s national production has recorded exponential growth over the past years,  creating a middle class in the rural areas among smallholder farmers who continue to produce a quality crop, legislators have heard.

Appearing before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development yesterday, Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chairperson, Mr Patrick Devenish, said Zimbabwe’s tobacco was among the best quality crops globally and competed favourably with other leading producers such as Brazil and India.

The committee, chaired by Chivi South MP Cde Felix Maburutse (Zanu PF), sought to know the preparedness of this year’s tobacco marketing season.

Mr Devenish said there were several issues which contributed to the high quality of the tobacco grown in Zimbabwe.

“The first one is the ministry that has provided superb leadership to the tobacco industry. The contracting system has been around for some time, but it is growing stronger and stronger and that has allowed the development of smallholder farmers.

“The success of the industry is due to the success of smallholder farmers. The yields of smallholder farmers have gone up significantly, so has the quality of the products,” said Mr Devenish.

He said the industry has created a middle class in the rural areas.

“We are looking up to the smallholder sector which I personally believe is the future of the African continent. So, I think that is a big factor.

“The recognition from the global cigarettes and other tobacco manufacturing markets, that Zimbabwe is indeed the best producer of smoking leaf in the world, has made a huge difference.”

Mr Devenish said TIMB had a strong and dedicated staff, who have managed to deal with several challenges such as side marketing.

“We have 31 licenced buyers and 44 contractors, all of them licensed by TIMB. The crop has done significantly well since the beginning of January and we are expecting a very large crop. As I have said many times, Zimbabwean tobacco has now been globally accepted as the finest smoking leaf in the world. So the focus is for a buoyant selling season this year and a large crop,” he said.

As the marketing season opens today, farmers who spoke to The Herald yesterday said they had made efforts to produce high-quality tobacco, raising hopes for a successful marketing season.

Both the Tobacco Sales Floor and Premier Tobacco Floors said they were prepared to facilitate operations, and were eagerly welcoming farmers as they delivered their crop for today’s sales.

Under the new payment structure, farmers will receive 70 percent of their sale proceeds in foreign currency, with the remaining 30 percent provided in local currency, converted at the prevailing auction exchange rate on the day of sale.

The foreign currency will be directly deposited into growers’ foreign currency accounts, while local currency payments will go into their local bank accounts or e-wallets.

Prices on the auction floors will be determined through a competitive bidding process, where the highest bid sets the final price for each bale of tobacco.

With favourable rainfall contributing to an anticipated production of 280 million kg of tobacco this year, expectations for both quality and quantity are high.

However, amidst this optimism, the TIMB has issued a stern warning against side marketing, a practice that undermines the integrity of Zimbabwe’s tobacco  industry.

“Farmers who receive financial and input support from contractors are expected to sell their crops to them as per contractual agreements, while self-financed growers should take their tobacco to the auction floors. Yet, some growers attempt to bypass this system, selling to unauthorised buyers or at unapproved selling points,” said TIMB in a statement.

“There is nothing called ‘free tobacco’; it is auction tobacco. Contractors and growers alike must adhere to the proper marketing channels to ensure the continued stability and growth of Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry.”

To combat these illegal practices, TIMB has introduced a biometric grower management system that requires farmers to use their fingerprints for authentication at every stage of production and marketing.

This initiative seeks to identify self-financed growers trying to sell at contract floors and to catch contracted growers attempting to sell at auction floors or to unauthorised buyers.

Illegal buyers, referred to as Makoronyera, have been a persistent challenge, operating outside TIMB regulations and purchasing tobacco directly from farms at unfair prices.

To ensure fair compensation for farmers, TIMB has also introduced a new pricing matrix that reinforces the importance of selling through the right channels.

Inspectors have been deployed across all tobacco-growing regions to monitor compliance and investigate cases of side marketing, with legal action promised against transporters found aiding illegal sales.

Premier Tobacco Auction Floors executive director, Owen Murumbi, expressed optimism for the upcoming season.

“We are anticipating a good season with farmers expected to get their money on time; the payment systems introduced are friendly to the majority of farmers.”

He highlighted the presence of four banks on-site, including newcomers like InnBucks, to facilitate transactions, a shift towards mobile money that is seen as a significant convenience for farmers.

To further engage the farming community, promotions will take place on Wednesdays, allowing stakeholders to interact with farmers and reward outstanding growers.

“Stakeholders will come to participate every Wednesday, advertising their brands and giving farmers prices,” Mr Murumbi said.