Zimbabwean tobacco producers have raked in over US$400 million in earnings since the auction floors opened six weeks ago, with 138 kilograms of the lucrative tobacco leaf produced, according to statistics posted late last week by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).
This is around $50 million more than the US$349 million recorded for the same period last year. TIMB officials are projecting that total earnings will exceed R600 million this year. To date, exports to Zimbabwe’s top five tobacco export destinations – China, Indonesia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Russia – have totalled US$130 million.
Tobacco is one of the top three major export earners in the country with
