Source: Agricultural Marketing Authority announces cotton buying points | The Financial Gazette July 13, 2016
THE Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) has announced 106 cotton buying points across the country for the 2016 marketing season, up from 98 last year.
Of the 106 buying points, 37 are in the Midlands, 21 in Mashonaland West, 23 in Mashonaland Central, 15 in Masvingo and nine in the Manicaland Province.
As has become the norm, the cotton marketing season opened with a price war between farmers and ginners with farmers demanding that the ginners pay first the price adjustments for their 2015 crop before a new crop is delivered to them.
Last year, ginners paid an interim price of US$0,30 per kilogramme for grade D cotton, and promised to later pay an adjustment based on grades.
However, this season ginners are expected to negotiate the price with individual farmers instead of the farmer representatives.
“It is important to note that there is no set producer price of seed cotton because seed cotton is not a controlled crop. The price is negotiated between farmers and buyers/ginners and farmers must be paid according to grade/quality of their seed cotton,” AMA said
To avoid confusion and issues of side marketing seed cotton would be bought by registered buyers during the 2016 seed cotton marketing season. Buyers are registered to purchase cotton from areas which they supported growers with inputs. The areas and the respective quotas are reflected on the buyers’ licences.
Production has declined by at least 34 percent from 136 000 tonnes in the 2013/2014 season to 90 000 tonnes in the 2014/2015 season due to the erratic rains experienced during this season.
This is the second lowest crop in the last two decades after 60 000 tonnes was harvested in the 1991/92 season also due to severe drought conditions.
COMMENTS
The issue of one company, COTCO, having a monopoly in the in the cotton industry leaves a lot to be desired. COTCO controls and whips all potential buyers into buying points so that it uses its power to control the cotton prizes. companies which have high buying power are threatened with unspecified actions including cancellation of licences. COTCO doesn’t want farmers to benefit from their sweat but them to get huge benefits from the farmers. COTCO hides behind the imput scheme advanced to farmers as justification to its blood sucking ,impoverishing and greedy tendencies. It is just a ploy to imprison the farmer since his or her negotiating power would have been compromised .One has to repay the advanced loan or risk having your few goats attached, so as results the farmer surrenders all his produce to COTCO at 30 cents which is far much less than the international market. To make matters worse cotton grades are pathetic ,almost all cotton is given grade D. Low cotton production has been caused by COTCO because of its shade dealings that impoverish the farmer.