TBZ says it has no information on Alliance One closure

The Tobacco Board of Zambia TBZ says that it has not received official communication that another tobacco buying company is pulling out from Eastern Province.
Regional Inspector, Herold Siandula says that TBZ is treating reports that Alliance One Zambia wants to pull out from the region as a mere rumour.
Mr. Siandula says that last week, he attended a tobacco meeting in Lusaka with Alliance One but such information was not confirmed.
A second pull out of a tobacco company from Eastern Province would be a serious blow to the industry.
Two weeks ago, EFAZ, Eastern Fodya Association of Zambia indicated that it had information that Zamleaf was not going to sponsor farmers in the 2015-2016 farming season.
Meanwhile TBZ has described the 2015 crop marketing exercise as a bad season.
Regional Inspector, Herold Siandula says that this is because of the bad weather, which made it difficult to predict how much tobacco would be produced and bought.
Mr. Siandula however, commended farmers, stating that they put in their very best despite the challenges.