HARARE – The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has blocked at least 448 growers from selling tobacco at auction floors for side marketing their crop.
Side marketing refers to the sale of tobacco produce to third parties in breach of contractual agreements that bind producers to selling their yield to the contractor who would have provided inputs to the grower.
It is also when an individual sells tobacco on behalf of another.
The government outlawed side marketing through Statutory Instrument 77 of 2022 in a bid to protect contracting companies from unscrupulous dealers.
Under the SI, a side marketer may be required to compensate three times the loss suffered by a contractor while a person who engages in side marketing may also be imprisoned for a maximum of six months.
In a statement, TIMB said suspicion was raised when the blocked growers’ numbers sold tobacco five times or more in only 13 selling days.
“We have blocked 448 grower numbers on strong suspicion of tobacco-side marketing.
“We interrogated the tobacco selling system, according to sales points, looking for irregular activity that strongly indicates the illegal practice and these growers are the alleged offenders.
“The blocked grower numbers had sold tobacco five times or more in only 13 days of the 2023 tobacco marketing season.
“It is illogical and cost-ineffective to bring 20 bales to market on a Monday; then bring 10 on Wednesday and 15 on Friday the same week only to bring similar amounts of tobacco in the following week,” it said.
The regulator said such sales behaviour was typical of tobacco farmers who sell tobacco on behalf of their peers or illegal tobacco buyers who buy the golden leaf from farmers at low prices and resell it at auction or contract floors at higher prices.
“We have blocked these growers from making more sales to make sure we only have legitimate tobacco farmers selling,” said the board.
TIMB advised the individuals with blocked grower numbers to approach their offices with their sale sheets, and verify that they are legitimate tobacco growers selling their own produce.
“We will also send our technical team for farm visits to verify by physically inspecting the respective farms and if they are legitimate growers, we will unblock their grower numbers.”
Meanwhile, according to statistics released by TIMB on day 21 of sales, at least 49. 4 million kg of tobacco valued at US$148.5 million has so far been sold through the auction and contract systems.
The average price paid was $3 per kg as compared to $2.93 per kg paid during the same period last year.
