DESPITE the low prices in the world market, Zanzibar will continue paying its clove farmers a better price of 14,000/- per kilogram or more, the Managing Director of the Zanzibar State Trade Corporation (ZSTC), Ms Mwanahija Almasi Ali, said here.
She informed reporters at her Maisara Street office here that although clove prices in the world market were currently unsatisfactory, it will not prompt the ZSTC to reduce the buying price from farmers.
She did not mention the price abroad. “We ask our farmers not to get worried about the price. We keep paying them better prices compared to prices fetched in a neighbouring country where smuggled cloves sell at 10,000/- only.
We need our farmers to sell all their cloves to ZSTC,” said Ms Ali. She had convened the news conference to refute reports in the social media and among buyers that ZSTC was running out of money and that it had started getting cloves on loan from farmers who have to wait to be paid.
“We have enough money to pay our farmers on the basis of cash upon delivery,” said the director general who thanked farmers for producing more cloves this year. ZSTC anticipated buying about 3,200 tonnes of the crop.
The MD said the government expects to buy 4,500 tonne of clove by January 2016 when the season ends and that so far, 1,730 tonne has been bought by December 18.
She said that 126 farmers have also been supported with loan amounting to 342.3m/- for clove harvest activities.
Flanked by several senior ZSTC officials, Ms Ali said the government remained committed to reviving the crop cloves, adding that more seedlings will be produced and given to farmers. “I would like to thank all farmers for the good work so far,’ she concluded.
/Daily News.
No comments :
Post a Comment