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Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest tobacco producer, opened its tobacco-selling season recently. The auction was kicked off amidst the presence of a large number of international buyers
Zimbabwe, Africa’s largest tobacco producer, opened its tobacco-selling season recently. The auction was kicked off amidst the presence of a large number of international buyers. The Southern African country expects to harvest 230 million kilograms (254,000 tons) of the golden leaf this season. In the previous year, the total production was 212 million kilograms (234,000 tons). Significantly, the size of the crop increased despite increased fertilizer prices caused by the war in Ukraine.
The southern African country now wants to make its tobacco industry more lucrative by manufacturing locally more cigarettes so as to add value to the product. It is also taking steps to limit foreign funding of farmers since it is often found that it did not work well for the farmers. China is a major buyer of the crop and currently funds the bulk of production. It is also the major buyer of the product.
Russia -Ukraine war had a negative impact on the tobacco industry. Because of that, farmers had to buy fertilizers at a higher price. The spike in production was largely due to more farmers starting to cultivate tobacco on their farms. The number of farmers cultivating tobacco increased from about 123,000 last season to about 150,000 this season. Larger tracts of land were also brought under cultivation of tobacco. It was increased to 118,000 hectares (about 292,000 acres) from about 110,000 hectares (272,000 acres) last season.
Production of tobacco had plummeted from a high of about 240 million kilograms (265,000 tons) in 1998 to less than 50 million kilograms (60,000 tons) a decade later. This was due to the eviction of several thousand white farmers who accounted for the majority of growers. However, in recent years, Zimbabwe has rapidly increased the size of its crop. It is one of the world’s top five exporters of tobacco. In 2019, the country exported 261 million kilograms (288,000 tons).
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China plays an important role in Zimbabwe’s tobacco boom. It has established a grower contract system, which is run by the state-owned China National Tobacco Corporation. The Corporation is the world’s largest cigarette producer. The Chinese firm loans seeds, fertilizers, food, and money for labour and wood to farmers who now make up the majority of Zimbabwe’s tobacco producers. The Chinese firm, in turn, buys back the product from the farmers. Close to 95% of the tobacco offtake comes under this system. The government feels the system is not working well for the farmers. That is why it has decided to make cigarettes within the country.
