The Cotton Company of Zimbabwe (COTTCO) has assured farmers that all seed cotton stored at common buying points (CBPs) will be transported to ginneries by mid-October and that outstanding payments for 2024 will also be processed.
This assurance comes in response to farmers’ concerns that some 2024 seed cotton remains at certain CBPs, with the local currency portion (equivalent to US$0.08) yet to be received.
Stewart Mubonderi, chairman of the Cotton Producers and Marketers Association (CPMA), said that some seed cotton at the CBPs was damaged due to recent rains. He said (via The Herald):
COTTCO has not yet picked seed cotton in some CBPs in areas such as Mutoko, Chiredzi and Binga among others and the cotton was damaged by rains that fell last week.
Farmers have also not been paid their local currency component for the crop plus the grade-based differentials.
COTTCO’s CEO, Rockie Mutenha, said that 76% of seed cotton has been transported from common buying points (CBPs) to ginneries, with efforts underway to complete the movement by mid-October.
He said 45 to 50% of the local currency owed to farmers has been paid, and although a local bank has a facility to cover the full amount, it is currently facing liquidity challenges but plans to disburse funds soon.
According to a COTTCO report dated September 26, the total intake from all six business units (BUs) was 9,973,909 kilogrammes, with 7,611,788 kilogrammes moved and 2,362,121 kilogrammes remaining.
The Sanyati unit has the highest outstanding amount at 910,302 kilogrammes, followed by Chiredzi, Gokwe, Chinhoyi, Muzarabani, and Kadoma.
The 2023/24 agricultural season was significantly affected by an El Niño-induced drought, leading to an 85% drop in production, from 90,084 tonnes in 2022/23 to just 13,545 tonnes this year.
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