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The Agricultural Marketing Authority (AMA) has approved the setting up of 106 common buying points for cotton across the country, up from 98 last year, as the market readies for start of selling the white gold next week. Previously one of the top export crops, cotton production has over the years plummeted due to a cocktail of challenges bedevilling the sector, chiefly pricing.Last year, cotton exports accounted for less than two percent of the country’s total exports, coming behind tobacco and sugarcane in terms of agricultural produce.

In a statement on Tuesday, AMA said negotiations between farmers and buyers would determine the price for the crop.

“The price is negotiated between farmers and buyers/ginners and farmers must be paid according to grade or quality of their seed cotton,” it said, emphasizing that cotton was not a controlled crop.

Price wars have characterised the beginning of the cotton season as buyers offer lower prices than those farmers would be demanding.

To try and address issues of side marketing which has also rocked the sector, AMA said registered buyers would only be allowed to buy cotton from areas where they supported farmers with inputs.

While the government distributed free cotton inputs this season, at least seven companies including Grafax, China Cotton, Sino Zim and Alliance Ginners also provided seed to plant 255 000 hectares.

AMA said of the one hundred and six buying points, thirty seven were in the Midlands province, twenty three in Mashonaland Central while Mashonaland West had twenty one, Masvingo fifteen, Manicaland nine while Matabeleland North had one.

The buying points will open on June 1 this year.

Zimbabwe produced 102 000 tons of cotton in the 2014/15 season with expectations that output would, this season, drop significantly due to the El Nino induced drought conditions. – New Ziana.