Tobacco valued at over US$130 million has so far been traded on both auction and contract floors since the 2025 tobacco marketing season commenced last month, as volumes begin to steadily pick up following a slow start.
One of Harare’s auction floors, operated by Premier Tobacco Auction Floors, recorded its highest volume of the season this past Friday. The company’s sales manager, Mr Sam Garagba, confirmed that around 1,200 bales were traded in a single day, marking the highest daily figure since the start of the season. He expressed optimism for a continued upward trend in volumes in the coming weeks.
“Volumes are starting to go up and this Friday about 1,200 bales passed through our auction floors, which is the biggest figure that we have registered so far since the start of the season. We look forward to rising figures from now going forward,” said Mr Garagba.
Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) spokesperson Chelesani Moyo Tsarwe provided an update on the 21st day of the marketing season, noting that while the season began earlier than last year, the late rains had affected overall volumes.
“Remember the season started a bit early compared to last year and also this season we received late rains which has an impact on the volumes compared to last year. We have about 36 million kilogrammes of tobacco that has been sold so far valued at US$136 million compared to US$186 million worth of tobacco sold last year at the same period of the season,” she said.
The government has set an ambitious target of 280 million kilogrammes of tobacco for the 2025 season. Despite the initial setbacks due to delayed rainfall, stakeholders remain hopeful that the industry will recover and achieve the set targets as trading activity intensifies.
