Tobacco production to hit 50 million kg
By STANSLOUS NGOSA
TOBACCO production has been projected to increase to approximately 50 million from 35 million kilogrammes per annum.
Tobacco Association of Zambia (TBA) executive director, Jewette Masinja, said the Tobacco industry was also expected to increase earnings to over US$65 million per annum in exports as a result of the new Chinese market that had opened up.
Speaking in an interview, Dr Masinja said the new Chinese market was important to the industry because it would act as a catalyst to drive local production to higher levels than the current 35 million kilogrammes annually.
“We expect the tobacco industry to increase production to about 50 million kilogrammes worth over $65 million based on the new and important Chinese market that has just opened up to Zambian tobacco, ” Dr Masinja said.
He said the local tobacco industry’s performance could have been better but that it was being hampered by exchange rate fluctuations, Dr Masinja said in 2005 tobacco earned $55, 584,918 while in 2006 the industry earned $53,199,012.
On the closure of the British American Tobacco, Dr Masinja said the move had not substantially affected the local tobacco industry from the production point of view because BAT used to utilise less than two per cent of the locally produced crop in its production.
On the 2007 Budget, Dr Masinja said it was neutral in as far as tobacco production was concerned because none of the operational parameters had been changed adding that the effect of tax changes in this year’s Budget on agriculture in general and tobacco in particular would not affect tobacco production.
