Cotton producers in Zimbabwe have welcomed their government’s decision to pay a 10% incentive on the export of the commodity, along with a US$40 cash payment on each bale sold, as part of the three-year Presidential Inputs Scheme.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor, Dr John Manudya, announced ahead of the cotton season recently that producers would be paid the incentive on a monthly basis as part of government’s intention to up revenue and foreign currency creation through exports.
The three-year Presidential Inputs Scheme – which was introduced last year for cotton producers – has seen a rebound in exports after production of the crop grew by 150%. According to the Zimbabwe Agriculture and Marketing Authority, national cotton output jumped to 72 000 tonnes in 2017 – up from 28 000 tonnes in 2016.
A representative of the Cotton Ginners Association of Zimbabwe (CGAZ), Godfrey Buka, said in a statement that the RBZ decision to provide US$40 cash to seed cotton growers for each bale of cotton they delivered to Cottco would go a “long way” towards subsidising continued production. Seed cotton costs an average of US$100 per bale, according to Buka.
