Zimbabwe has witnessed a significant increase in tobacco sales this year despite a decline in the crop's output, up 25.6 percent from the same period of last year, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board on Wednesday .

It has sold a total of 41.9 million kg of flue cured tobacco valued at 84.3 million U.S. dollars at the country's auction floors as of August 8, compared with 44.4 million kg, worth 67.1 million U.S. dollars last year.

This year's crop fetched a higher average price of 2 dollars per kg while it was sold at 1.51 dollars last year.

Out of the 41.9 million kg, 22.4 million kg were sold through the contract system and 19.4 million through the auction system.

Figures released by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board on Wednesday indicated that a total of 540 bales have been laid and 494 bales sold.

Zimbabwe is expecting to produce 50 million kg of flue-cured tobacco this year, down from 74 million kg last year. Tobacco is one of the country's largest foreign exchange earners.

Source: Xinhua