Zimbabwe warns tobacco buyers to bid or lose licences

ByEnigma 808

Zimbabwe’s tobacco farmers are literally pulling their crops off auction floors after prices nosedived to $0.45/kg, and regulators just gave ghost buyers 14 days to show up or lose their licenses.

TIMB drops an ultimatum on licensed buyers

  • TIMB boss Emmanuel Matsvaire personally warned inactive merchants.
  • Buyers hoarding licenses without trading face revocation.
  • Only a tiny fraction of licensed buyers actually participated.
  • The 14-day window is meant to jumpstart real competition.

Opening-week numbers were absolutely brutal

  • Just 626,742 kg moved in the first 24 hours.
  • That is roughly half of 2025’s opening-day volume.
  • Average prices slid from $3.35/kg to $2.85/kg year-over-year.
  • Furious growers started yanking their tobacco in protest.

Government bets more buyers will fix things

  • Obert Jiri expects prices to firm once more merchants join.
  • Zimbabwe ships about 95% of its crop through contract farming.
  • TIMB projects 400 million kg in total sales in 2026.
  • Inactive merchants must explain their no-shows and declare purchase targets.

Author

  • Enigma XO avatar (80x80)

    Besides writing and being a content creator, Enigma 808 sometimes likes to watch paint dry on walls, listening to ASMR while timing snails racing. Such is life.