Tobacco crop production to leap with Chinese funding

Zimbabwe's tobacco output will increase at least 40 percent this year after a boost in funding to farmers from banks and firms, many of which are Chinese, and due to good weather, an industry official said on Wednesday.
Chinese companies have become the major financiers and buyers of Zimbabwe's tobacco crop and industry officials say these firms will buy at least half of this year's tobacco.
Tobacco's earnings potential has fallen behind that of mining in recent years. Before the collapse of commercial agriculture in 2000, as President Robert Mugabe oversaw the seizures of white-owned farms, it was the country's single largest foreign currency earner, generating $400 million.
Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) chief executive Andrew Matibiri told Reuters during the opening of the 2011 selling season that he expected sales of at least 170 million kg this year, up from 120 million kg last year.
"The rains and other conditions have been favourable this year and while farmers still experienced some problems -- such as power shortages, shortages of working capital among others -- overall the situation was ideal for tobacco farming," Matibiri said.
More than 30,000 small holder farmers have replaced white-owned commercial farmers, who had traditionally produced the crop, which reached a peak of 236 million kg in 2000.
The government has said the agriculture sector is recovering, and that farming had now become lucrative after Harare abandoned its worthless Zimbabwe dollar in favour of foreign currencies like the U.S. dollar and South African rand.
On Tuesday tobacco prices ranged between $1.20 and $4.20 a kg on the auction floor in Harare. Last season prices were highest at $4.80 and lowest at $0.50 and the average was $2.91.
Mugabe, who turns 87 next year, has defended his land seizure drive as necessary to correct colonial land imbalances and sees the recovery in agriculture as a vindication of the policy.