Uncertain future for Premier Auction

Premier Tobacco Auction Floors in Zimbabwe may fail to obtain a license for the upcoming marketing season due to financial constraints, reports The Herald Business.

The country’s third-largest auction floor is weighed down by debts, including outstanding tobacco levies and unpaid wages.

In the recent years, Millennium Tobacco Auction Floor and Zimbabwe Tobacco Auction Floor collapsed after experiencing financial challenges.

Zimbabwe currently has three tobacco auction floors—Tobacco Sales Floor, Boka and Premier.

The 2016 tobacco selling season will open on March 30, Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chairperson Monica Chinamasa said last week.

She said 23 buyers have been licensed to buy on the auction floors while 15 merchants have been licensed to buy for contract sales.