Cotton farmers bag good support prices

Cotton farmers in Zimbabwe have reached a win-win solution with the country’s registered buyers to end the decade old price war between them.

Although cotton is Zimbabwe’s second largest export earner, cotton production had become unviable due to low cotton prices for several years.

However, after the current negotiations cotton growers and ginners have agreed to minimum grade prices of US$ 1.05 per kilogramme (kg) for grade A, US$ 0.96 per kg for grade B, US$ 0.89 per kg for grade C and US$ 0.85 per kg for grade D.

These prices are still less compared to the global lint prices of about US$ 1.70 per kg in January 2011, but much higher than the US$ 0.30 per kg that the farmers received during the past decade. Over 200,000 Zimbabwean farmers will be benefited by these new prices.

It may be noted that the Zimbabwean lint is famous for its top quality and is commonly referred to as Zimbabwe’s white gold, which fetches a premium on the international market.

The cotton production in the country, however, is not expected to increase substantially during the current year and the country is expected to produce 270,000 tonnes of cotton, much below its potential of 600,000 tonnes per year.