Zimbabwe has earned US$42.1 million from tobacco exports since this year’s auctions started a month ago, an industry marketing agency said Thursday. The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) said a total of 13.4 million kilogrammes of the crop had been exported, mainly to Asia and Europe, the country’s principal markets. Tobacco auctions in the country opened 30 April and TIMB said prices had been firm at an average of US$3.13 per kilogramme. Last year, the crop fetched an average price of just slightly above US$2 a kilogramme. Zimbabwe is a major tobacco producer in the world and until recently, the crop was the country’s top export. Controversial agrarian reforms carried out by the government in the last eight years have reduced tobacco output significantly, deposing the crop from the number one export position. This year, the country expects to market 75 million kilogrammes of tobacco.
