Zimbabwe is expecting a sharp increase in cotton production. Cottco, the country’s sole authorised cotton buyer, has set aside 44 million dollars to buy the crop. Cottco has set up 433 buying points across the country where farmers can sell their produce.

The expected increase in production can be attributed to the steps taken to revive the industry. To boost cotton production, free inputs were provided to growers during the 2016-17 cropping season.

During the current buying season, Cottco would initially pay 40 cents per kg, and after grading the crop it will pay additional grade-related price adjustment of 15 cents for Grade A, ten cents for Grade B and five cents for Grade D.

So cotton growers can expect to receive a price between 40 cents per kg to 55 cents per kg depending on the quality of their cotton.

Production of cotton had significantly declined in recent years owing to the high cost of production and unending fights over pricing between farmers and merchants.

During the 2016-17 cropping season, the government provided growers with free cotton inputs worth 36 million dollars to boost production of the crop.

Zimbabwe’s textile and clothing sub-sector consists of three components: production and ginning of cotton, transformation of lint into yarn and fabric, and the conversion of fabric and yarn into garments.