Zimbabwe’s 2019 tobacco is not only having a reduced amount of the golden leaf, but also lower prices as compared to 2018.
The average tobacco price as at 28 June 2019 or day 68 of the golden leaf selling season was at $2.09/kg, 20.0% lower compared to $2.65 realised during the same period in 2018 according to information from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ).
“Weekly cumulative tobacco sales stood at 217,669 kgs as at 28th June 2019 or day 68 of the 2019 tobacco selling season. This compared unfavourably with the quantity of tobacco sold during the same period in 2018,” the RBZ says in its Weekly Update.
“The value of tobacco sold stood at US$455.80 million, reflecting a 24.8% decline from the comparable period in 2018.”
The 2019 tobacco season has not been doing well as Zimbabwe’s rain-fed agriculture could not stand the dry spell on the country.
The RBZ information shows that as at day 68 the quantity of tobacco had dropped by 4.8 percent to 217,758 kg in 2019 from 228,758 sold in the same period in 2018.
The value of the golden leaf had also dropped by 24.8 percent to 455.80 from 606.09 on the periods under review.
“Tobacco prices have remained subdued since the beginning of the tobacco selling season,” the RBZ says.
Tobacco is the largest foreign currency producing crop bringing in over $800 million last year.
Zimbabwe sold 214,538,903 kg as at 5 July 2019, the prices of the day was US$1.96
