Steep Rise in Brazilian Tobacco Prices

Tobacco buyers have been paying 43 percent more for flue-cured Virginia leaf and 35 percent more for burley leaf in Brazil, reports Kohltrade, citing a partial marketing survey carried out by Afubra, a tobacco growers association.

During a May 4 meeting of the Rio Grande do Sul Tobacco Sector Chamber, Afubra President Benício Albano Werner said famers have been receiving an average of BRL15.09 ($3.16) per kg for their flue-cured tobacco and an average of BRL13.48 for their burley this year, compared with BRL10.54 and BRL13.48, respectively around the same time in 2021.

Industry sources note strong competition to purchase the remaining stocks of green tobacco from farmers. By the end of April, the cigarette tobacco-producing states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Parana has sold 73 percent of their Virginia tobacco, 93 percent of their Burley leaf and 92 percent of their Comum tobacco to leaf merchants.

The price increases are attributed to the rising cost of energy, fertilizers and labor, among other factors.