Emmerson Njanjamangezi, Group Features Editor 
TIAN Ze Tobacco says it currently has no plans to establish a tobacco processing plant in the country, but will instead focus on expanding its contract farming scheme.
The Chinese tobacco company was established in 2005 under a Memorandum of Understanding and currently handles at least half of Zimbabwe’s crop. During the 2021 marketing season, the country sold 186,6 million kilogrammes (kg) of tobacco leaf valued at US$515,9 million, up 16,8 percent in volume and 31 percent in value over the 2020 sales.
In 2020, Tian Ze exported 60 million kgs of packed tobacco (90 million kgs green) valued at US$500 million.
In an interview on the sidelines of the firm’s annual farmers’ awards last week, Tian Ze managing director Wang Hua said the country’s crop size was currently not big enough to support another processing plant.
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