Business Reporter Zimbabwean tobacco farmers lost over US$284 million in potential earnings during the 2026 marketing season, after lower leaf prices wiped out revenues despite higher crop volumes. …
Business Reporter
Zimbabwean tobacco farmers lost over US$284 million in potential earnings during the 2026 marketing season, after lower leaf prices wiped out revenues despite higher crop volumes.
Official seasonal statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board show that total revenue dropped 24 percent to US$893.88 million, down from US$1.18 billion generated in the 2025 season.
The massive revenue decline occurred even as total mass sold rose 1 percent to 358.82 million kilogrammes, up from 354.71 million kg delivered during the previous period.
This was primarily driven by a 25 percent plunge in average prices, which fell to US$2.49 per kg across all trading platforms, compared with US$3.32 last year.
Growers selling through the auction system bore the brunt of the price collapse, securing an average of US$1.90 per kg against US$2.55 achieved by contract growers.
The seasonal ceiling price offered on the floors also shrank by 9 percent, topping out at US$5.75 per kg compared with US$6.30 per kg in 2025.
Farmer earnings were further eroded by a sharp 45 percent surge in rejected output, with total rejected bales rising to 195,637 from 134,835 bales last season.
Auction floors recorded the highest rejection rate, at 9.95 percent, after 43,734 bales were turned away out of 439,403 laid.
Contract sales performed comparatively better, recording a 3.76 percent rejection rate, with 151,903 bales rejected out of more than 4.04 million laid.
Overall bale rejections across the industry reached 4.37 percent of total deliveries, marking a noticeable increase from the 3.02 percent rejection rate logged in 2025.
The combination of depressed buyer prices and rising floor rejections leaves thousands of smallholder and commercial farmers facing severe margin squeezes and debt pressures ahead of the next planting cycle.
Contracting companies maintained their strong grip on the sector, absorbing 91 percent of total mass sold to generate US$833.79 million, while auction floors accounted for the remaining 9 percent.
As Zimbabwe’s top agricultural export and second-largest foreign currency earner after gold, tobacco underpins rural livelihoods across the country, with thousands of smallholder farmers driving the bulk of national production.
