HARARE – The 2026 tobacco marketing season opened at auction floors in Harare on Wednesday amid protests by farmers angry over low prices.
The season opened with a first-bale price of $4.60 per kilogram, slightly down from $4.65 last year, but prices quickly fell to as low as US$0.50–$0.60/kg on some low-grade bales, angering farmers.
“I can’t sell my tobacco at $1/kg,” said one farmer. “What will I use to buy inputs for next season?”
The depressed prices are due to a surplus of tobacco on the market.
About 95 percent of Zimbabwe’s tobacco is sold on contract with buyers, where prices and volumes are agreed between growers and merchants. The smaller portion is sold on the open market at auction, which started on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, trade regulator the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board warned that globally there is an oversupply of tobacco and that countries are holding stocks from previous years, adding that high volumes naturally introduce market pressures that negatively affect pricing.
China, one of the biggest buyers of Zimbabwean tobacco, is also purchasing less this year, cutting its Zimbabwe orders by over 10 million kg.
The industry expects to sell up to 400 million kg this year, up from 335 million kg last year.
Ahead of the auction season, TIMB CEO Emmanuel Matsvaire told Parliament that Zimbabwe was looking for new export markets and buyers to help absorb the extra leaf.
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