The 2020 tobacco marketing season officially came to an end after most growers sold their crop and are now concentrating on seedbeds ahead of transplanting which starts next month.

Contract floors will remain open and a floor can conduct a sale once it has received enough volumes from the growers. The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) had recently reduced auction sales days to three per week as volumes continued to decline.

Until 28th of August, tobacco growers have sold 177,000 tons of tobacco worth US$ 444 million at an average price of US$ 2.5 per kg. The volumes sold this season have declined by 23% from the previous 232,000 tons, worth US$ 456 million sold during the same period last year, at an average price of US$ 1.97 per kg.

This year the volumes sold through the auction floors declined mainly due to the decentralization of floors to reduce the spread of the virus. Of the 177,000 tons sold this season, only 9,100 tons worth US$ 25,6 million were sold through the auction floors while 168,600 tons worth US$418 were sold through contract floors.

Source: The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB)