Zimbabwe has earned $214 million from flue-cured tobacco exports to date—55 percent more than during the same time last year, reports The Herald citing statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). The country has exported 52 million kg thus far, compared with 28 million kg in the 2018 period.

The tobacco marketing season in Zimbabwe started on low note in March, with the first bale selling for $4.50 per kg—$0.40 less than the first bale of the previous season. Low opening bids resulted in subdued delivery of tobacco to the auction floors as farmers held on to their crop in anticipation of an improvement in prices.

Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube said on Monday that the government is clamping down on illegal buyers of tobacco.

“We are aware of the leakages in the tobacco sector,” Ncube said. “We were made aware that there was inside marketing taking place where bogus people were buying tobacco directly from the farmers and then taking it onto the floor.”

Source: Tobacco reporter