Tobacco |
Tobacco deliveries to the auction floors have increased as most farmers have finished processing their crop for sale.
Some farmers are
also delivering their crop because they want to raise school fees for
their children ahead of the opening of schools in the coming weeks.
Boka Tobacco Floors
operations manager Mr Moses Bias confirmed that deliveries to the
auction floors had firmed. He said this was a normal trend as schools
open.
"Our volume have
picked. Many farmers are now delivering their crop because they have
finished curing and grading, but the major reason for the increase is
that farmers now want money for school fees.
"We used to receive
an average of 1 700 bales per day during the fist days, but now we are
getting an average of 6 000 bales per day," he said.
He said the season was going on well and there have not been any challenges with prices.
"The only challenge
we are still encountering is that of farmers who do not comply with the
requirements of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) to
renew their grower numbers and book before delivering their crop.
"We have so many
bales in the receiving area that cannot be sold because the farmers have
no complied with the TIMB requirements.
"This is usually
done by farmers who come to the floors for the first time. The farmers
end up staying at the floors for days while waiting to sell their crop,"
he said.
Most farmers said
they were happy with the price being offered by buyers. So far the
highest price at the floors has remained on $4,99 per kilogramme while
prices at the contract floors have gone beyond$5 per kilogramme.
Farmers told The
Herald that they were happy with the seasons, but complained of
insurance companies that were deducting money from their accounts
without their consent.
Meanwhile, farmers
have sold 45 million kilogrammes of flue cured tobacco worth $125
million at an average price of $2,79 per kg.
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