Zimbabwe Poised to Set New Records

As of Aug. 1, growers had purchased more than 1 million grams of seed with potential to cover 201,036 hectares, according to the Kutsaga Tobacco Research Board. By the same time last year, they had bought only 831,000 grams with the capacity to plant 164,200 hectares.

Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association Chairman George Seremwe said the likelihood is high that the country will eclipse both the area record of 146,000 hectares, set in 2019, and the output record of 296 million kg, established in 2023.

“This could be a record-breaking year encouraged by last season’s good prices and the absence of alternative crops paying better than the golden leaf” he was quoted as saying.

Tobacco Farmers Union Trust Vice President Edward Dune noted that seed sales were a reliable index for hectarage estimations. “Given the tobacco pricing matrix over the years, coupled with the positive effects of the forecast La Nina weather, farmers will have no choice but do anything possible to get good quality leaf that will fetch high prices,” he said.