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Tobacco output set to drop

    JOHANNESBURG

    ZIMBABWE'S tobacco output for next year is likely drop by 30 percent as a result of the illegal occupation of commercial farms by independence war veterans, the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU) said this week.

    CFU deputy director Jerry Grant said tobacco output in the coming season could fall by about 60 million kg because of the disruption of the occupation of more than 1,000 white-owned farms across the country. 'The Financial Gazette' estimated the shortfall at US $120 million.

    Zimbabwe, the world's third largest tobacco producer, on average harvests an annual crop of 200 million kg, 80 percent of which is exported. Tobacco is also Zimbabwe's single biggest export, earning about 29 percent of its total annual foreign exchange.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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