TIMB allays fears of price manipulation
Martin Kadzere
The Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB), an industry regulator, has allayed fears of price manipulation by merchants during the 2021 marketing season owing to the potential collapse of the auction system.
TIMB chief executive officer Dr Andrew Matibiri told The Sunday Mail Business that the auction system would be maintained this season despite expected low volumes of the free funded crop, as many farmers would likely be de-registered from contract schemes after some of the merchants failed to provide prescribed minimum funding.
The marketing board is currently validating the value of inputs and quantities given to farmers this season to ascertain if contractors complied with required minimum support levels.