Zimbabwe Orders Tobacco Buyers To Start Buying Or Risk Losing Licences As Furious Farmers Decry Poor Prices

Zimbabwe has ordered licensed tobacco buyers to start purchasing leaf within 14 days or risk losing their licences, after furious farmers protested over extremely low prices offered at auction floors during the 2026 tobacco marketing season. Authorities stepped in after growers began withdrawing their tobacco from the market, complaining that prices had plunged to as little as US$0.45 per kilogramme (about R8.40), triggering panic across the country’s most valuable agricultural export sector.

The intervention was announced after the opening days of the marketing season in early March 2026 exposed a sharp drop in both volumes sold and prices offered to farmers.

Tobacco regulator warns inactive buyers

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) moved to compel merchants to participate in the market after discovering that only a handful of buyers had been active since trading began.

According to ZimLive, TIMB chief executive Emmanuel Matsvaire wrote directly to licensed buyers warning that they could lose their licences if they failed to start purchasing tobacco within two weeks.

“TIMB notes that your organisation has not yet participated on the buying floors for the 2026 tobacco marketing season,” Matsvaire said in a letter addressed to merchants.

He stressed that the regulator would not tolerate companies sitting on licences without participating in the market.

“To prevent the hoarding of licences and ensure that all licensed buyers contribute meaningfully to the price-discovery process at the auction floors, the board directs that a period of 14 days is given for you to have utilised your licence.”

Authorities said the move was meant to restore competition among buyers and stabilise prices that farmers say have collapsed.

Prices slump as farmers withdraw tobacco

The crisis unfolded just days after the 2026 tobacco marketing season officially opened on 4 March 2026 in Harare.

Figures released by TIMB showed a weak start compared to the previous year.

During the first 24 hours of trading between 4 March and 5 March 2026, only 626,742 kilogrammes of tobacco were sold, generating about US$1.78 million (about R33.30 million).

By comparison, the same period in 2025 saw 1,245,242 kilogrammes sold for US$4.17 million (about R78.10 million).

The average price also dropped sharply.

TIMB data showed the opening price averaging US$2.85 per kilogramme (about R53.40) this year compared with US$3.35 per kilogramme (about R62.80) during the opening of the 2025 season.

The steep decline sparked anger among farmers, some of whom reportedly began withdrawing their tobacco from the auction floors in protest.

The government expects prices to stabilise

Officials believe forcing more buyers into the market will improve competition and push prices upward.

Obert Jiri, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, said authorities expect conditions to improve as more merchants begin buying.

“As more merchants come in and volumes increase, the market will begin to stabilise and prices start to firm,” Jiri said.

Zimbabwe remains one of the world’s largest tobacco exporters. The country sells roughly 95 percent of its crop through contract farming arrangements between growers and merchants, while only a small portion is traded through the auction system.

TIMB expects total tobacco sales during the 2026 marketing season to reach around 400 million kilogrammes, up from 335 million kilogrammes recorded in 2025.

Regulators have also asked inactive merchants to explain their absence and declare how much tobacco they intend to buy during the season.

Authorities say those responses could influence the final national sales projections.