Tobacco farmers in Zimbabwe have so far sold more than 150 million kg of the golden leaf worth about 415 million U.S. dollars two months after the tobacco marketing season commenced.
This represents a 40 percent increase in the volume of tobacco sold over the same period last year.
A total of 136,218 bales of tobacco have so far been sold via the auction floors while 1,880,326 bales have been sold through contract floors, state-run Herald newspaper reported Friday.
The tobacco marketing season normally starts in March and ends in August.
Also read: Zimbabwe: Tobacco prices continue to firm
According to estimates, about 200 million kg of tobacco will be sold this season.
Tobacco is Zimbabwe’s second foreign currency earner after gold, with China and South Africa being the major buyers of the golden leaf.
The crop is mainly produced through the contract system where buyers provide the farmers with the inputs for tobacco farming, thereby reducing the capital required to run a tobacco farming business.
