Zimbabwe: Cotton Makes Small Gain

Starting this season, the country has a new regulatory framework for buyers and merchants of cotton which aims to encourage production and protect the industry following marketing problems that arose due to the proliferation of buyers.

The hyper inflationary environment prevailing in the country has necessitated regular price reviews for cotton. The export quota for lint is 70%. Lint exports in 2007 are expected to reach 77,490 MT compared to 68,597 MT in 2006. South Africa and Zambia were the main African export destinations. In the Far East, the main export destinations were Thailand, Singapore, and Japan, while Italy, Germany, and the UK were the main European export destinations.

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About 200,000 small-scale farmers produce 98% of the country’s cotton. Ginners and merchants play an important role in supporting cotton production by providing extension support and crop inputs such as seed, fertilizers, and pesticides on credit. Growers sign contracts that bind them to sell their seed cotton to the contractor. The liberalization of the industry brought in more merchants and buyers than in the previous two seasons, but also created challenges to the smooth execution of these contracts. Side marketing of the contracted crop to buyers who did not supply inputs has become rampant and is a threat to contract growing arrangements and the growth of cotton production in the country, reports USDA-FAS.

Another potential threat to production was the illegal production of cotton from the previous year’s stalks. As a way to control cotton pests and diseases, a ‘dead period’ is enforced whereby all cotton stalks should be destroyed at least 50 days before planting. However, due to the economic crisis in the country, some farmers have resorted to unorthodox farming practices as a way to cut down production costs. Growing cotton from the previous year’s stalks can encourage the upsurge of pests like pink bollworm. AREX, the extension arm of the government, plans to tighten the enforcement of the cotton destruction dates in the 2007/8 season.

The Zimbabwe spinners and textile manufacturers experienced a shortage of lint in 2006. The shortage resulted from some ginners who did not honor their obligations of supplying 30% of their lint production to the local market, leading to the government placing a lint export embargo on five ginners in January 2007. A shortage of fabrics prevailed in 2006 and the shortage of foreign currency to import fabrics exacerbated the problem.

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