This year’s cotton marketing season extended

The Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) has extended the 2024 cotton marketing season to 31 July as farmers in different areas still have cotton maturing in their fields.

This year’s cotton marketing season was supposed to run up to 06 July.

Speaking to NewsDay, AMA chief executive officer Clever Isaya said that late rains and drought resulted in the late maturing of cotton. Said Isaya:

We had a delay in the last farming season because of the late rains and the droughts. Right now, there are still farmers in different farming areas who still have their cotton seeds maturing and still preparing for sale…

There were low yields, and it has been challenging, characterised by a late and false start of the rains followed by prolonged dry spells.

AMA extended the cut-off marketing dates for farmers in Mashonaland Central, Gokwe, Chiredzi, Sanyati, Bulawayo, Chinhoyi, Marondera, and Mutare, with the longest extension ending on July 31, 2024.

Isaya said that cases of side marketing have been relatively few this season due to the quota system implemented earlier this year. He said:

We have had very isolated cases of side marketing. This season, we implemented the quota system, and it has been very instrumental in dealing with side marketing.

There were very few cases, I think we only recorded only two cases of side marketing.

AMA implemented a quota system that was based on the level of support each contractor had provided to farmers during the current agricultural season.

Under the quota system, no contractor was permitted to purchase crops outside of their assigned quota, except for self-financed crops.

Meanwhile, AMA set this season’s minimum prices for the “white gold” at US$0,43 per kg for Grade A, US$0,39/kg (Grade B), US$0,36/kg (Grade C) and US$0,32 (Grade D).