July Vol 2, Business , Financial and Property Indaba
Zimbabwe earns US$80m from tobacco
Agriculture officials in Zimbabwe said Monday the country had so far earned US$87.3 million from tobacco exports this year, higher than the US$76.8 million it netted last year in the same trading period.
Agriculture officials in Zimbabwe said Monday the country had so far earned US$87.3 million from tobacco exports this year, higher than the US$76.8 million it netted last year in the same trading period.
Tobacco is one of the country's main exports, but production has in recent years gone down after the government drove off white farmers, who grew the bulk of the crop, from their farms.
Production is now dominated by newly resettled black farmers.
The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board said a total of 30.1 million kilogrammes of tobacco had been exported so far this year, mainly to Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
It said the crop had been sold at the average price of US$2.89 per kilogramme, which was lower than last year's US$3.15.
The board, which controls the marketing of the crop, said it expected a further 42 million kilogrammes of tobacco to be delivered to auction floors by farmers before the selling season ends in August.
