Currently waiting at Washington Dulles for the last leg of my return trip to Raleigh-Durham. The flight from Addis Ababa arrived early and I could probably have caught an earlier onward flight to RDU—but United Airlines now charges $75 for traveling standby, so as a good Dutchman I’ll keep the cash in my pocket and [...]
As tobacco veterans know, travel is hurry up and wait. During the down times you need something to entertain yourself. Technology makes that easier. I have downloaded to my smart phone an application that allows me to access my computer at work. That enhances productivity, but it can also be used to play tricks on [...]
To appreciate the shift that has taken place in the Zimbabwean tobacco industry over the past decade, consider these figures: In 2000, approximately 4,000 growers sold 240 million kg. This year, the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association is expecting sales of about 160 million kg—produced by a whopping 60,000 farmers. Designed for commercial production, the country’s marketing [...]
I was surprised to run into Patrick Rose at Northern Tobacco in Harare. I had met Patrick several years ago when he was looking after BAT’s leaf growing operations in Uganda, and he seemed to enjoy being back in his home country. Later that morning, I caught up with Zhang Qinggang, managing director of Tianze [...]
I visited the Tobacco Sales Floors this morning, interviewed Greg McDonald at Inter-Continental Leaf and caught up with Dr. Andrew Matibiri at the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board, who introduced me to Rudo Boka. Rudo is the daughter of the late Roger Boka, a controversial black-empowerment entrepreneur who in the 1990s built what was supposed [...]
