TOBACCO deliveries at the country’s three auction floors have reached 152 million kg since the start of the 2013 auctioning season early this year.
GARIKAI TUNHIRA
The figures suggest the 170 million kg target could be reached this year, judging from the anticipated performance of the market.
By Day 88 which was Friday last week, 152,2 million kg of the golden leaf had gone under the hammer generating $562,5 million in revenue. Official statistics show that tobacco deliveries are higher this year as compared to the previous auctioning season.
Last year, 124,9 million kg of the golden leaf had gone under the hammer the same period, and this year’s deliveries marked a 22% surge.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) at the beginning of this year estimated that 170 million kg of the crop would be sold this season.
With figures now falling short by 17 million kg to reach the target, TIMB this year could be on the right track considering that the board is yet to announce the closing date.
The board announced at the beginning of the year that this year’s selling season would be shorter as compared to other years.
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It has even conceded that deliveries are now declining, with the TIMB Week 24 tobacco report saying: “Average bale delivery at auction floors have further declined, recording bales less than 700 per floor per day, compared to four major contractors that are still delivering more than 1 000 bales per day per contractor.”
In 2011, the season lasted for about 126 days, whereas last year the season was 144 days. Suppose this year it lasts 120 days, it would be suffice to say 25 million kg of the crop could go under the hammer in the next 32 days considering that an average of 700 000kg is being delivered now every day at the floors.
It should not be ignored as well that a substantial number of farmers still have some of their crop retained and would want to sell it towards the end of the auctioning season so that they purchase farming inputs for the coming rainy season. So the figure could actually get to the anticipated 170 million kg.
Tobacco production is actually on the rise since the inception of the chaotic land redistribution programme which saw inexperienced new farmers taking over the growing of several crops, including staple ones.
The redistribution exercise started in 2000, the same year which saw the highest deliveries of the golden leaf at the auction floors.
Some 250 million kg of the crop went under the hammer that season, and after that saw deliveries plummeting to as low as 50 million kg in 2008 – the peak of monstrous inflation figures.
