The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has announced that all tobacco grown by farmers using their own funds will be sold through the auction system this year.
In Zimbabwe, tobacco is grown under two arrangements: contract farming (where companies fund farmers) and self-financing (where farmers pay for their own production).
This new rule from TIMB is part of the updated guidelines for the 2024/25 tobacco season. It aims to protect farmers from being offered unfair prices for their tobacco. TIMB’s CEO, Emmanuel Matsvaire, said:
We challenge all the 55 licenced merchants this season that there is no room to buy free tobacco outside auction floors.
He said that TIMB has a strict policy and won’t tolerate any rule-breaking.
In the past, farmers and buyers could make private deals to sell tobacco from self-financing farmers, without using the auction system. TIMB now believes this could lead to unfair pricing.
Selling tobacco outside the auction system could also mess with the auction prices because the minimum price at the auction sets the lowest price for contract tobacco.
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