Due to the drought, Zimbabwean farmers are expected to sell up to 240 million kg of tobacco this year, which is 5% less than in 2018, an industry official said at the opening of the sales season on March 20, which could help ease the serious Zimbabwean problem. dollar deficit.

Zimbabwe is plagued by a shortage of US dollars, which leads to a shortage of fuel, food and medicine, especially in public hospitals, where, according to doctors, patients die due to a lack of basic supplies.

The opening of tobacco auctions traditionally leads to an improvement in foreign currency inflows into the South African country, as buyers bring dollars from offshore banks to buy crops. Tobacco, which is grown by more than 170,000 mostly small farmers, is Zimbabwe's second largest source of foreign exchange earnings after mining industry and last year brought the country $ 892 million. Last year, farmers who grow tobacco delivered 252 million kg, which is a record high. About 40,000 new farmers have taken up tobacco farming this season.The growing demand from China, the largest smoking country in the world, and the financing of private tobacco companies have helped to increase production after falling in 2008. According to the National Council on the Tobacco Industry and Marketing, tobacco exports have already brought $ 178 million since January, moreover South Africa and China account for the lion's share of foreign exchange earnings.