Alternative funding needed to rescue auction floors: Matibiri

THE country’s three tobacco auction floors are facing a bleak future as 95 percent of the golden leaf is now being sold through the contract system.
The 2021 marketing season opened trading yesterday with some estimates pointing to an even higher percentage, leaving very little crop for the auction floors. The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB)’s outgoing chief executive, Andrew Matibiri, says a solution needs to be found to keep the auction system alive, which he says is crucial for price discovery in the