Yvonne Mutava
Tobacco growers are encouraged to present clean neatly packed tobacco for sale in order to minimize rejection and while maximizing on profits.
Growers are encouraged to take reasonable care when presenting tobacco for sale as undamaged, uniformly graded tobacco which is free from contamination, foreign matter and other non-tobacco related materials is what the market seeks.
“Clean” means completely free of floor sweepings, grading tickets, pieces of string, plastic, grass, newspaper and any other foreign matter.
As a result, the use of polythene and plastic products is definitely not recommended in tobacco handling.
Farmers should make sure that they present clean to market as anything short of this would result in rejection of the bale.
Growers are also reminded that eating during grading of tobacco is not allowed as it may encourage foreign matter on the graded tobacco.
It is also of much importance to take great care when packaging and sewing the hessian wraps.
Needles and threads found in a bale are termed non tobacco related material hence growers should always be cautious after using them, making sure that they do not get packaged together with the tobacco.
Bales found before and after sale to contain any foreign matter at all will be closed up and not sold but will be rejected as WR (foreign matter).
Should 10% of the consignment be found to contain foreign matter, the whole consignment will be rejected.
Tobacco farmers should also ensure that no attempt is made to hide inferior tobacco in the centre of bales as nesting is an offence that attracts a penalty of twenty dollars per bale or a one year imprisonment or both.
All nested tobacco bales will be for forfeited to the Board and shall be re-handled and sold to the Board’s account.
Ensuring that tobacco is being kept in good condition is another way of proper handling.
Buyers appeal against the ‘wet’ condition therefore growers should ensure that tobacco is not over-conditioned as this may lead to mould.
Most growers do not consider some handling procedures seriously yet there is no stage which should be ignored since it might affect the sale.
Transporting of the crop to the selling points is another form of handling which is generally taken for granted by many.
Growers should only use trucks that have a covering so as to ensure that their bales are not soaked by rain.
Growers are reminded that, tobacco for sale should not be transported together with diesel or any other fuel as this may contaminate the tobacco and farmers are reminded that any fuel contamination leads to the withdrawal of tobacco from the sale.
Great care should also be taken to ensure that grease from the baling box screw does not come out into contact with tobacco.
It is recommended that the screw be always greased under supervision as bales will be rejected as “Damaged” (DR) if found contaminated with grease at the floors.
Farmers are not be permitted to collect their rejected tobacco and auction floors have the obligation to make arrangements for such tobacco to be re-handled within their premises or engage licensed graders to carry out the re-handling.
Growers are also reminded that procedures for presentation of tobacco sold by auction will continue as before, so only approved wrapping paper and hessian wraps will be used in baling tobacco for presentation at the auction floors.
Farmers are therefore encouraged to acquire hessian wraps from approved outlets as cheaper similarly looking material may be rejected as inappropriate as they may be contaminated by chemicals that are banned in tobacco.
Transporting of the crop to the selling points is another form of handling which is generally taken for granted by many.
Growers should only use trucks that have a covering so as to ensure that their bales are not soaked by rain.
Growers are reminded that, tobacco for sale should not be transported together with diesel or any other fuel as this may contaminate the tobacco and farmers are reminded that any fuel contamination leads to the withdrawal of tobacco from the sale.
Great care should also be taken to ensure that grease from the baling box screw does not come out into contact with tobacco.
It is recommended that the screw be always greased under supervision as bales will be rejected as “Damaged” (DR) if found contaminated with grease at the floors.
Farmers are not be permitted to collect their rejected tobacco and auction floors have the obligation to make arrangements for such tobacco to be re-handled within their premises or engage licensed graders to carry out the re-handling.
Growers are also reminded that procedures for presentation of tobacco sold by auction will continue as before, so only approved wrapping paper and hessian wraps will be used in baling tobacco for presentation at the auction floors.
Farmers are therefore encouraged to acquire hessian wraps from approved outlets as cheaper similarly looking material may be rejected as inappropriate as they may be contaminated by chemicals that are banned in tobacco.
In such a circumstance, a farmer will have paid for the similarly looking paper on the street and will then be required to buy the correct paper from approved suppliers, thereby paying twice and making the shortcut expensive.
No comments:
Post a Comment