NEXT Tuesday the curtain comes down on the 2015 tobacco marketing season and there will be a fair share of smiling farmers and some wondering where they got it wrong.
According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), delivery was now slow and final deliveries are expected on July 14 with mop up sales set for August 4 2015.
Statistics from the board indicate that to date, sales have racked in US$530 million in revenue, indicating a 16 percent decline from the US$630 earned during the same period last year.
At least 180 million kilogrammes (kg) of the golden leaf have been sold to date, translating to a nine percent decline from the 198 million kg sold during the same period last year.
Of the 180 kg sold, almost three quarters of sales 134 million kg were sold under the contract system average price of US$3,10 per kg.
Under the auction system, only 45 million kg of the golden leaf were sold at an average price of US$2,45 per kg.
This year’s season is running for 135 days though it started late.
Traditionally, the selling of the golden leaf starts mid-February, but this season it was delayed as the rains were received late.
When the marketing season started stakeholders were upbeat that it would be a successful one.
This season was unlike past marketing seasons that were characterised by congestion with some farmers having to spend days and weeks camped outside floors before selling their crop.
Auction floors blamed farmers for not following the correct marketing procedure of booking their crop first and getting a grower’s number before coming to the floors.
This eroded the farmer’s premium as they spent days at the auction floors subsequently chewing their earnings.
But this season the major challenge for farmers was the issue of prices.
On the first day of the season, sales had to be temporarily stopped at the three auction floors as farmers boycotted demanding a review of the prices arguing that merchants were deliberately under-pricing their crop.
Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president, Wonder Chabikwa said concerns were raised by farmers over the issue of prices.
“This year the major bone of contention was the issue of prices as farmers felt the buyers were taking advantage of them,” he said.
Chabikwa was happy with farmers for taking up tobacco production.
He urged existing growers to impart skills and knowledge to the new growers to ensure the country continues to increase production.
“The continued increase in tobacco growers is encouraging and this shows farmers are confident that they too can produce a quality product,” said Chabikwa.
“Tobacco is a crop that has a ready market, as it is sought after on the international market and through tobacco farming lives of resettled farmers have been transformed.
Prior to the Land Reform Programme in 2000, tobacco production was a preserve for white farmers, but the land reclamation programme has seen many indigenes venturing into production of the golden leaf.
And since then, stakeholders are putting in place measures to ensure that new growers get the knowledge to produce a quality crop.
Another issue that irked farmers this season was the loss of bales at the floors.
Bales were also rejected or priced lower because the farmer would have mixed different sized leaves or they differed in quality.
Farmers accused some auction floor workers for working in cahoots with bogus business people to dupe them at the various stages of transactions.
Zimbabwe Progressive Tobacco Farmers Association president, Mutandwa Mutasa urged TIMB to scrutinise rehandlers to ensure transparency in cases of rejected bales.
Rehandlers are those contracted to repack any rejected bales.
“Some of these rehandlers are bogus business people who want to profiteer at the expense of farmers,” he said.
The tobacco production sub-sector, a former preserve of white farmers, has grown over the years with production levels rising from an all-time low of 48,8 million kg in 2008 to 215, 7million kg last season.
This year 222 million kg is expected to go under the hammer.
Tobacco contributes 20 percent of the gross domestic product.
The sector accounts for 40 percent of exports and supplies 63 percent of raw materials for agro industries.
The country exports 98 percent of semi-finished tobacco products, with the rest being consumed locally.