AT least 111.6 million kilogrammes of tobacco worth US$358 million have has been sold since the 2014 marketing season opened in February this year, according to the latest statistics from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).
The volume of the golden leaf sold so far is a 23.6 per cent increase on the 90.3 million kg of tobacco worth US$334.7 million sold during the comparable period last year, the TIMB data show.
Of the total, 78.1 million kg of tobacco were sold through contract sales while the remainder went under the hammer.
The seasonal average price of the tobacco this season was US$3.21 per kg, a drop of 13.4 per cent from US$3.71 per kg of last year. This year's tobacco selling season had opened on a low note with depressed prices of below US$2.0 per kg.
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