THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has conceded to tobacco farmers’ demand and increased their incentives by more than double from 5% to 12,5% for the 2018 marketing season.
By Fidelity Mhlanga
Early this month, NewsDay reported that farmers’ unions were lobbying for a review of the tobacco incentive, arguing they were the biggest earners of foreign currency in the country.
In a joint statement yesterday, RBZ and the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board said : “Accordingly, and following consultations with tobacco industry stakeholders, the bank advises that the export incentive scheme for tobacco growers has been reviewed upwards from 5% to 12,5% for the 2018 tobacco marketing season,” the statement read.
“Given this significance and the need to ensure sustained growth of the sector to enhance its contribution to foreign currency earnings, the bank has reviewed the export support given to the sector.”
