Zimbabwe embarked on market liberalisation in the early 1990s, leading towards increasing participation of private capital in the agricultural sector. This paper examines the emergent shape of a private marketing chain for cotton in Zimbabwe, based on fieldwork conducted between February and July 2000. It outlines the national regulatory system prior to market liberalisation, followed by a description of developments in production, processing and sales of lint against the background of the dismantling of the single-channel marketing system. The privatisation of the cotton marketing board replaced state monopoly with private, although collective private action and coordination prevented downgrading. The paper concludes with a discussion about (absence of) competition and commodity system sustainability in a liberalised market.