Maravi

(HERALD) Tobacco season ends

Tobacco season ends
Saturday, 13 August 2011 22:24 Agriculture
Agriculture Editor

TOBACCO farmers have been urged to complete their grading as well as baling before the closure of the auction floors on Thursday this week.

Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chief executive Dr Andrew Matibiri said the final day for the 2011 flue-cured tobacco sales is Thursday, August 18. Dr Matibiri said the last deliveries should be made on Wednesday for the Thursday sales to take place.

He said all growers should, therefore, complete their grading and baling operations well before the final sales day.

“TIMB advises that the final day of 2011 flue-cured tobacco auction sales is Thursday, 18th August, 2011, with final deliveries being accepted on Wednesday, 17th August, 2011,” said Dr Matibiri.

He said while this Thursday would be the final sales day, a clean-up sale would be held on September 20.

Dr Matibiri said depending on the volume of deliveries, the clean-up sales could continue until all the delivered tobacco was sold.

He, however, pointed out that the selling of contracted tobacco would continue until further notice.

With the country’s tobacco selling season coming to an end, a total of 129,5 million kg of the flue-cured crop valued at US$355, 5 million has gone under the hammer at the country’s three auction floors since the beginning of the selling season in February.

According to TIMB, this year’s deliveries were 11,79 percent more than the 115,8 million kg (valued at US$338,2 million) sold in the same period last year.
This year’s average selling price was US$2,75 per kg while last year’s average price was US$2,92 a kg.

Preparations for the 2011/12 season have started with seedlings for the irrigated crop already on the ground.

Planting of the irrigated crop starts in October while dryland planting begins in November.

There are more than 65 000 growers registered for the 2011/12 season compared to 52 000 last season.-The Sunday Mail

Labels: ANDREW MATIBIRI, TOBACCO

posted by MrK @ 1:55 PM