Harare – Zimbabwe’s annual tobacco crop, a key source of hard currency, has slumped for the fourth year running to just over 64 million kilograms, official figures revealed Tuesday. According to figures released by the Zimbabwe Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) the country had sold 64,317,259 kilograms of the golden leaf worth more than 130 million US dollars at the close of business Monday. The figure represents another sharp decline in earnings from the country’s key foreign currency spinner compared to last year when over 184 million US dollars was realised from a crop of 81 million kilograms. Zimbabwe sells most of its tobacco to the European Union and Asia. Zimbabwe’s tobacco production has declined steeply since 2000, when the country’s mainly white commercial farmers produced a crop of 237 million kilograms. In that year the government embarked on a programme of seizing white-owned land for redistribution to new black farmers. The new farmers have experienced problems such as lack of capital and inputs. Triple digit inflation and the high cost of borrowing money has also cut production, analysts say. They point out that a smaller tobacco crop has contributed to the scarcity of foreign currency needed to buy critical imports such as fuel and medicine. Although the official end of the tobacco selling season is Tuesday, “mop up sales” are due to take place in September, TIMB said. This could see the total crop sold in 2004 increasing slightly.

From Business Day (SA), 1 September
Source: WWW.ZwNews.Com