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.
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Zimbabwe: Tobacco Selling Season Kicks Off Today
4 days ago
By Elita Chikwati
The new tobacco selling season kicks off today with the opening ceremony this morning at the Tobacco Sales Floor in Harare and with contract sales opening tomorrow.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has licensed the three traditional auction floors in Harare: Boka Tobacco Floors, Tobacco Sales Floor and Premier Tobacco Floors.
Only a modest fraction of the crop is now sold on auction, with most farmers and most of the crop going through the contract system.
As was the case last year, some of the contracting companies will operate out-of-Harare sales points.