By Francis Chipalo
The Tobacco Board of Zambia (TBZ) has given 12 licensed tobacco buyers a 24-hour ultimatum to submit their price matrices or face sanctions, after they defied a Wednesday agreement to do so.
TBZ Executive Director Robert Mwale said only four of the 16 licensed buyers have complied. He said submission and approval of price matrices by the Board is mandatory before any tobacco purchases begin.
“The current situation is unacceptable and places unnecessary pressure on all stakeholders in the tobacco value chain,” Mwale said.
Mwale said no buying should commence until the board has reviewed and approved the price matrices.
He said it was regrettable that the TAZ sales floor commenced operations without an approved price matrix. “This jeopardizes our mandate to protect growers and ensure orderly marketing of the crop,” he said.
The Board has since directed all buyers who started purchasing tobacco without approved price matrices to cease operations immediately until approval is granted.
Mwale said TBZ is reviewing submissions and will only approve matrices that reflect the cost of production to ensure growers get value for their labour while buyers safeguard sponsored funds.
All approved price matrices must bear an official TBZ date stamp and must be displayed at every licensed sales floor countrywide to ensure transparency and compliance, he added.
This is contained in a statement by Lee Haamunji, corporate and communications manager, TBZ.