A spokesman from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) said they had been resumed after the “severe congestion at the tobacco auction floors” had been cleared last week. He said all new tobacco deliveries to the auction floors had been resumed as of Saturday.
However, there was chaos at the TSF over the weekend as the news about the suspension leaked out to farmers who had gathered there to sell their golden leaf in exchange for United States dollars. “Sales resumed on Saturday. Growers should note that the auction floors will still not accept any tobacco that has not been booked for the sale in advance and that such tobacco will be turned away from the delivery queues,” the spokesman said.
Some “naughty” tobacco farmers wives were allegedly beginning to sleep outside the TSF waiting to sell their husband’s product in Harare. Prostitution was also reported to be rife outside the TSF as the women of the night pounced on their male partners, leaving condoms scattered around the selling venue at night.
Growers have been advised that they are, however, still free to book and to deliver on a “first-come first-served” basis to a floor of their choice. “The practice of ‘deliver today and sell tomorrow’ will still apply at all auction floors,” the spokesman said.
“Growers should only engage the services of transporters registered with TIMB and whose payment is done through the Central Stop Order System.”
Bookings at the TSF are from 6:00 am until 6:00 pm Mondays to Fridays and 6:00 am until 12 noon on Saturdays.
Once the third largest producer of flue-cured tobacco, Zimbabwe’s production has dwindled dramatically, largely as a result of President Robert Mugabe’s controversial land resettlement programme begun in 2000.
Post published in: Economy