Zimbabwe govt plans re-establishing Cotton Marketing Board

27 May '14

2 min read

The Government of Zimbabwe is planning to re-establish the Cotton Marketing Board (CMB) for orderly production and marketing of the crop in the country, Joseph Made, Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development has said, The Herald reports quoting New Ziana news agency.

The CMB was formed in 1969, but was later renamed as The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe Limited (Cottco). It was privatized in 1994 and listed on the Zimbabwe Stock exchange (ZSE) in 1997. Subsequently, Cottco was delisted from the ZSE in 2008, and the AICO Africa Limited was listed in its place, with Cottco becoming one of the subsidiary companies of AICO Africa Limited.

Cotton is a vital sector for Zimbabwe and sixty percent of the country’s rural population is directly involved in cotton production, Mr. Made said.

This season, the Zimbabwean Government has not yet announced a buying price for the crop. Meanwhile, the Competition and Tariff Commission has said that farmers, instead of unions, must negotiate the prices on their own. This has resulted in some farmers delaying the harvest of their crop.

Mr. Made urged cotton growers to harvest their crop so its quality can be maintained, while the Government restores order in the sector. He anticipates better cotton production this season compared to previous seasons.

The move to allow cotton growers to individually negotiate with contractors benefits the farmers, according to Rockie Mutenha, general manager of Agriculture Marketing Authority. It is because farmers will get an opportunity to negotiate price that he wants for his product depending on the input that he received from the contractor during the sowing period.

As of now, Cottco operates as a cotton procuring, processing and marketing company. It has nine ginneries with a combined capacity to process 265,000 tons of raw cotton.

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