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[QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 39879, member: 636"]
Cotton farmers will receive payments only in US dollars during this marketing season. The lowest grade cotton earns 30 cents per kilogram. Higher quality cotton brings better money with top grade paying 41 cents per kilogram. Farmers must wait for grading before getting extra payments for better quality crops. The current payment system frustrates many growers across the country.

Farm groups want a different way to set cotton prices. The Zimbabwe Farmers Union says the present system hurts producers. Companies that process cotton pass their problems onto farmers. Leaders want prices based on what farmers spend to grow crops. They believe this approach would help growers make fair profits.

Farmers face high costs when growing, and harvesting cotton. Workers charge one dollar to pick 20 kilograms of cotton. Transport costs add another 10 dollars to move cotton from fields to buying centers. A 200-kilogram bale costs farmers about 20 dollars just for labor, and transport. Many farmers struggle to break even with current prices.

Cotton supports about two million people in Zimbabwe. The crop provides jobs, and brings foreign money into the country. Weather hurt last year's harvest badly with only 13,000 tonnes produced. Officials expect this year's harvest to reach 63,000 tonnes. Better rains helped farmers plant more cotton across the nation.
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