By Online Desk |  8 months ago | business

Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has suspended contract sales for Vision Leaf with immediate effect following the company's non-compliance with trading guidelines.

In a statement TIMB chief executive officer Emmanuel Matsvaire said the regulator unearthed anomalies in the trading of Vision Leaf, which include alteration of vouchers indicating tobacco received from farmers, non-disclosure or absence of prices for inputs issued under the contract deal, as well as high mark up prices for inputs availed to growers.

Matsvaire further stated that the company also failed to meet minimum standards to support farmers undertaking contract tobacco farming.

The development comes at a time TIMB is taking steps to foster transparency in the sale of the golden leaf to ensure farmers are not prejudiced.

Last season TIMB suspended Voedsal Tobacco for failure to pay for deliveries of the golden leaf in time.

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