HARARE – Farmers have so far sold 102.3 million kilogrammes of tobacco worth US$305.2 million, statistics released by the industry regulator showed Thursday.
Of the tobacco sold to date, 95.3 million kgs were sold through the contract system while the rest went under the hammer.
The tobacco is being sold at an average price of US$2.98 per kg, up 10.53 percent from last year’s price of US$2.70 per kilogramme.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, in an update on day 36 of the tobacco auction, said the volume of tobacco sold to date is 17.6 percent lower than the 124.2 million kg that had been sold during the comparable period in 2021.
The tobacco being sold this year was grown under challenging weather conditions, characterised by late and erratic rains.
The second round crop and livestock assessment report says tobacco production is this year expected to drop to 210 million kg from 250 million kg harvested in 2021.
