The Tobacco Board of Zambia (TBZ) has confirmed that 36 million kgs of tobacco has so far been bought this year and has assured Tobacco farmers that all the tobacco grown in Zambia will be bought off from them.
TBZ Chief Executive Officer James Kasongo told the Zambian Business Times – ZBT that the board has put in place a systematic method were all the Tobacco Farmers are registered which enables the industry to plan and ensure all the farmers produce has a ready market.
He revealed that a total number of farmers that were registered to sell tobacco this year was 20,073 out of which 19, 953 farmers have had their tobacco already bought off from them, making the crop very attractive to farmers.
Kasongo expressed happiness that some companies have shown interest in buying the remaining 330, 000 kgs of tobacco which has not yet been bought from twenty farmers who are from Eastern Province out of the total 20, 073 registered farmers.
Speaking in an interview with ZBT, Kasongo said he was hopeful that the remaining tobacco would be cleared by next week so that preparations for the next marketing season scheduled for opening in April can begin.
Kasongo noted that tobacco prices are competitive depending on quality and grades of the final crop. He stated that the average market price for this marketing season for cured tobacco is about $2.67 per kg, though other traders were buying at 20 cents, $1 dollar and upto as high $5 dollars depending on quality with the average price for burley being about $1.67.
He added that some Chinese buyers are offering $2 per kg and Alliance One is offering between $1 and $3 noting that the price is also dependent on the quality and grades of the tobacco, which is determined by professional graders on the Tobacco trading floor.
