Story by Owen Mandovha, Business Reporter
TOBACCO valued at over US$130 million has so far been traded on both auction and contract floors since the beginning of the 2025 tobacco marketing season last month.
Volumes are starting to pick up after a slow start to the season, with one of the auction floors operating in Harare recording the highest volumes this Friday since the beginning of the year.
“Volumes are starting to go up and this Friday about 1 200 bales passed through our auction floors, which is the biggest figure that we have registered so far since the start of the season. We look forward to rising figures from now going forward,” Premier Tobacco Auction Floors’ sales manager, Mr Sam Garagba said.
Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) spokesperson, Chelesani Moyo Tsarwe gave an update on the 21st day of the marketing session.
“Remember the season started a bit early compared to last year and also this season we received late rains which has an impact on the volumes compared to last year. We have about 36 million kilogrammes of tobacco that has been sold so far valued at US$136 million compared to US$186 million worth of tobacco sold last year at the same period of the season.”
Government has set a target of 280 million kilogrammes of tobacco for the 2025 tobacco marketing season.
