AP ZIMBABWE’S tobacco is flourishing again. And so are the auctions where premium prices are being paid for the “golden leaf” that is exported around the world. Most of the growers are Black, a historic change from when tobacco was largely produced by white farmers. But many of the small-scale farmers complain they are being
By Alois Vinga FINANCE Minister Mthuli Ncube Friday scrapped the payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) on rice imports effectively bowing down to pressure mounted by millers and retailers. Under new measures enshrined in Statutory Instrument (SI) 15 of 2021, the Treasury boss scrapped duty on various types of 25kg of rice pre-packaged for retail
By Bulawayo Correspondent THE price of mealie-meal is set to go down drastically for the next three months following a bumper harvest among both commercial and subsistence farmers this year. The government is expecting to harvest 2,8 million tonnes of maize for the 2020/21 agricultural season following the good rains that pounded the country in
By Alois Vinga THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Foreign Exchange (RBZ) Auction has to date allotted over US$1 billion to more than 3 000 large and Small to Medium Enterprises companies becoming the largest foreign currency source. In a Wednesday update, RBZ governor, John Mangudya said the announcement was in line with the bank’s commitment
Bloomberg ZIMBABWE plans to list a bond on the local exchange for the first time in 20 years to raise funds for the expansion and upgrade of a main highway that links the country to its largest trading partner, South Africa. The $250 million listing by the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe will be the
Staff Reporter THERE are growing fears that earnings from tobacco, which remains touted as the country’s second single largest foreign currency earner after gold’s net export proceeds, might be far less in foreign receipts compared to other commodities because most of the contract schemes are sponsored using offshore funds. According to the state media, reports
Fresh Plaza Recently, Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Agriculture added the orange-fleshed sweet potato to the nation’s food basket. Some call this a giant step towards improving exports of sweet potatoes and the livelihoods of farmers. Improved livelihoods through the adoption and increased production of diversified crops are underpinned by the Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan launched
By Staff Reporter TOBACCO farmers delivering the lucrative crop to auction floors continue to sing the same tune they have been singing over the years as payment challenges haunt them. Lovemore Muzenda is one of them. The Mazowe based farmer delivered his tobacco on Thursday and he has been made to wait. Said the 45-year-old,
By Alois Vinga TOBACCO sales have hit US$100 million within a fortnight from the official opening of the 2021 marketing season indicating almost a 100 % percent increase from figures recorded in the first nine days. Latest statistics released Thursday show that tobacco sales have now surpassed US$100m, 14 days into the marketing season. Records
By Alois Vinga RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Tuesday allotted US$36 million towards economic productivity amid notable inflation rates decline since the auction system’s inception last year. A trading update released at the close of trading this week shows that a total of US$31.3 million was allotted on the main auction platform. As usual, priority went
BBC TWITTER delivered a surprise for Africa when it said it was establishing a regional headquarters in the West African nation of Ghana, triggering vigorous debate about the business environment for technology start-ups across the continent. For the social media giant, its decision was based on shared values – Ghana supports “free speech, online freedom,
Reuters HARARE: Zimbabwe’s gold production fell 30% to 3.98 tonnes in the first quarter of this year, while export earnings from the yellow metal also declined, central bank data showed Friday. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) did not give a reason for the decline, but small-scale miners who produce half of the mineral say
By Alois Vinga THE demand for foreign currency continues to increase on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe auction with the number of bids sustaining an upward trend in the last three weeks. In the first week of April, a total 397 bids were submitted by companies intending to purchase foreign currency from the platform. Out
By Alois Vinga THE Procurement and Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ) has tabled plans to push for amendments on the purchasing law in order to promote locally manufactured goods. Speaking to NewZimbabwe.com Business on the sidelines of a media engagement meeting this week past week, PRAZ acting chief executive officer, Clever Ruswa said the proposed
Staff Reporter THE 2021 tobacco marketing season kicked off this Wednesday amid high hopes the troubled country will surpass last year’s figures. The highest opening price for a kilogramme of the golden leaf was pegged as US$4.30. This was an increase from US$4/kg from last year. Some 200 million kg of the leaf is expected
By Alois Vinga RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has relaxed the payment modalities for tobacco farmers in a development which will see the growers retaining their foreign currency portion as free funds. The development marks a major climb down from last year’s arrangements where tobacco farmers were paid half their earnings through their Zimbabwe dollar
By Alois Vinga RESERVE Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) bidding rates have sustained stable margins since the platform’s inception, indicating the possibility of long-term exchange rate stability. Launched in June last year, most companies have hailed the platform for achieving pricing predictability and slowing down both monthly and yearly inflation from a high of 837 %
By Alois Vinga THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has seen foreign currency demand increase on the foreign exchange auction amid a significant rise in allotments which reached US$35.7 million this week. A trading update released at the close of the FX39/2021 auction shows that a total of 644 bids were received on both the
Natural Gas News Summary THE agreement provides the Australian explorer the right to enter into a 25-year production licence following the exploration periods. Sydney-listed Invictus Energy has signed a petroleum exploration development and production agreement with Zimbabwe for the Cabora Bassa gas project, it said on March 29. The agreement was signed by Invictus’ 80% subsidiary, Geo
By Staff Reporter AN INTERNATIONAL engineering and management services provider, Penspen, has been awarded a contract by Zimbabwe’s National Oil and Infrastructure Company (NOIC) to upgrade the Feruka-Harare pipeline. Under the ten-month contract, Penspen will support NOIC’s efforts to enhance its operational efficiency of the pipeline to meet increasing petroleum products demand. The 208km-long Feruka-Harare
