Farmers protest low tobacco auction prices

The low prices being provided at auction floors have angered TOBACCO producers, who are begging with the government to step in and defend their rights.

The concerns followed the formal start of the 2026 tobacco marketing season on Wednesday at the Tobacco Sales Floor (TSF), where the first bale of the season sold for US$4.60 per kilogramme, which was marginally less than the starting price of US$4.65 last year.

Farmers claim that the prices they were getting for their tobacco, which ranged from $0.80 to $2.10 per kilogram, were inadequate.

Mvurwi-based tobacco farmer Justin Chiwara stated that the rates being offered were depressing and would force many producers out of the business in an interview with the 07NewsDaily on Friday.

“We worked very hard the whole season and spent a lot of money on inputs, but the prices we are seeing at the auction floors are very low. It is painful because we expected better returns. Some of our tobacco is being bought for less than US$0.80 per kilogramme. When you look at the cost of fertiliser, chemicals and labour, you realise that we are actually making losses,” said Chiwara.

Another farmer from Chegutu, Godfrey Pasipamire, warned that many growers could fail to repay loans obtained from financial institutions if prices remain depressed.

“We borrowed money to grow this crop and we were hoping to pay back after selling our tobacco. With these prices, it will be very difficult for many farmers to clear their debts. We are asking the government to intervene and make sure buyers offer fair prices. Farmers should not suffer after working so hard throughout the season,” he said.

A senior official from the ministry of Agriculture who visited the Premier Tobacco Auction Floors failed to address farmers after uproar erupted over the low prices being offered.

Premier Tobacco Auction Floors operations manager Samuel Garaba said increased buyer participation could help improve prices.

“We feel that the participation of more buyers can even help raise prices so that more farmers get paid for their tobacco,” said Garaba.

The developments come despite earlier assurances from the government that the sector would remain stable.

In February, authorities said the tobacco industry would remain resilient despite a downturn in global prices, citing Zimbabwe’s reputation for producing premium-quality leaf that is highly sought after on the international market.

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board has since indicated that an oversupply of tobacco on the global market has contributed to falling prices.

Recently, the deputy Minister of Agriculture, Vangelis Haritatos, urged farmers to remain calm, saying Zimbabwean tobacco continues to command demand due to its high quality.

“Tobacco is an international commodity. Global prices are global prices, but the issue with our tobacco is that it’s top quality, high quality. So, the demand for high quality tobacco, in my opinion, has not been affected. The affected pricing is the lower quality tobacco, which fortunately our farmers don’t grow in Zimbabwe. So, I believe that prices will be firm at a sustainable and a viable level for our farmers. I’m not worried at all. I don’t believe that is a risk. But I do believe that through our transformation plan that we need to look at other uses of tobacco so that the traditional uses are not the exhausted uses,” Haritatos said.

Last year, Zimbabwe harvested a record 355 million kilogrammes of leaf tobacco, surpassing the government’s initial target of 300 million kilogrammes and eclipsing the previous 2023 record of 296 million kilogrammes.

The crop generated more than US$1.2 billion in foreign exchange earnings. Over 80 percent of the crop was produced by small-scale farmers, largely supported by contract farming arrangements which provided necessary inputs and technical support.

The government this year set an initial projection of 360 million kg for the 2026 harvest. Confidence in the sector is high, with a reported 42 percent increase in planted hectarage, rising to 162 625 hectares, compared to the previous season