TOBACCO growers will sell their crop at auction floors in Harare only this year because all firms that applied for licences to operate in other provinces failed to meet stipulated standards.
Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board chairperson, Mrs Monica Chinamasa, yesterday said companies out of Harare could not meet the requirements although some had already put up structures.
She said the decentralisation of tobacco auction floors had now entered the second phase.
She said the first phase of decentralisation was done by TIMB, which decentralised its offices to provinces to enable farmers to book and register nearer to their farms.
"It is a long process, which cannot be completed in a single season.
"This season some companies in Karoi and Mvurwi applied for licences but could not meet the standards required to operate auction floors," she said.
Marcopine Auction Floor in Karoi had its premises inspected while the Mvurwi premises were reportedly not yet ready for the 2012 tobacco-selling season.
Mrs Chinamasa said TIMB does not licence individuals but premises.
"There are critical areas that we consider for a premise to get a licence.
"We consider the holding place for growers, clinic, eating places, security, banking facilities, ablution facilities, alternative sources of safe water and electricity among other things," she said.
She said these requirements needed capital and this was where some willing companies were failing.
"We are encouraging companies to open auction floors outside Harare as we want to bring services closer to farmers.
"We would want to make life easy for farmers and decentralisation is one way of achieving it," said Mrs Chinamasa.
This season, TIMB licensed four auction floors - Tobacco Sales Floor, Boka Tobacco Auction Floors, Millennium Tobacco Floors and Premier Tobacco Auction Floors.
Mrs Chinamasa said the licensed auction floors were all compliant in the areas of security, ablution facilities, banking facilities, clinics, IT systems and waiting areas.
These floors have a combined selling capacity of 36 000 bales per day.
The floors have enough capacity to sell all auctions tobacco in less than 50 selling days provided the growers book in advance to avoid congestion.
Just like last year, the tobacco-selling season will this year open in February.
It is slowly becoming a tradition for the floors to open as early February as TIMB endeavours to cushion farmers who are in dire need of ready cash.
TIMB is optimistic prices will be good this time around to avoid a repetition of what happened last season when marketing of the golden leaf had to be temporarily halted as farmers protested low prices.
The tobacco industry is preparing to receive tobacco volumes in the region of 150 million kilogrammes this season.
Zimbabwe is slowly moving towards regaining its status as one of the major producers of the golden leaf in the world.
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