Early sales mooted
The spectacular growth of Zimbabwean tobacco production has prompted Mashonaland Tobacco Co. to reopen its processing facility.
The government in Zimbabwe says it is prepared to open flue-cured tobacco auction floors next month – once farmers are ready to deliver their leaf, according to a story in The Chronicle.
The Minister of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development, Dr. Joseph Made, was said to have told ZBC News that tobacco auction floors were ready to open in February as long as farmers could deliver enough crop to kick start the marketing season.
The move by the government to open auction floors earlier this year than was the case last year has been welcomed by farmers.