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Zimbabwe, Poor prices (at the auction floors) are said to have affected the preparation of seedbeds for the coming crop.

These seedbeds should have been planted in June, but many growers were not in a good enough financial position to start the process. So, more bad news might be on the way We sincerely hope seed sales and farmers crop preparations improve in the next month,” Zimbabwe Tobacco Association chief executive Rodney Ambrose said.

Tobacco seeds, which were selling at US$25 per 100 grammes last year before the multi-currency system was scrapped, are now at ZW$170.

An official from Tobacco Research Board said the $170 factors in costs of producing tobacco varieties as it is in line with the interbank rate. “Seed sales for the 2019/20 season remain depressed as growers struggle to retool due to exchange rate variances between average selling rates of five against re-tooling rates at 9-11. Restrictions on the use of nostro funds are also a concern,” Robertson said. Poor prices have also posed serious viability challenges for the over 200 000 farmers who grew the crop this season.

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