The auction house attracts farmers from across the country but this year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, only a few are allowed on the auction floor. Dozens more wait outside, among them Chinese tobacco dealers, the countryâs main buyers.
Every year Tanhara, a widowed mother of four, comes here to sell her crop. If prices are low, she leaves disappointed but this year she is hopeful after a good rainy season. Her tobacco is given a high grade and opening prices are strong â $4.30 (£3.10) a kilo.
If she turns a healthy profit, it will be thanks in part to a
stokvel she and other women set up in 2020, to help them raise money and improve their farming techniques.