Convinced that its earnings fall short of potential, Zimbabwe has set out to capture more value from its tobacco business.
By growing the crop and moving up the value chain, the country aims to build a $5 billion tobacco industry by 2025.
Will it succeed? Read our special report about the challenges and opportunities associated with Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan.
The Man Behind the Plan
Zimbabwe’s minister of agriculture, Anxious Jongwe Masuka, explains how the country will build a $5 billion tobacco industry by 2025.
The Scientific Approach
Boosting production through innovation
The Trade’s Perceptive
Leaf merchants urge sustainable growth.
‘Not Really a Gamble’
Leaf dealers look forward to a good quality crop.
Iranian Tobacco Co. to Build in Zimbabwe
The plan dovetails with Zimbabwe’s desire to capture more value from tobacco.
CRP to Build $80 million Plant in Harare
The project fits with Zimbabwe’s desire to capture more value from its tobacco business.
Failure to Launch
Zimbabwe’s attempt to diversify into cannabis is proving more challenging than some anticipated.
Great Expectations
Cavendish Lloyd has started growing low-nicotine flue-cured tobacco in Zimbabwe for shisha applications.
The Smoke That Thunders
A cigar manufacturer hopes to move Zimbabwe’s tobacco exports up the value chain.
Zimbabwe to Phase Out Ethylene Dibromide
The institution wants to ensure that the country’s leaf tobacco meets international standards.
Zimbabwe: Growers Confident About Targets Despite Drought
As of Dec. 6, 2024, farmers had transplanted 66,438 ha compared to 61,380 ha during the same period last year
Zimbabwe Urged to Mitigate Farmers’ Losses
The high earnings reported are mainly benefiting other value chain actors, say grower representatives.
TIMB Joins GlobalG.A.P.
Membership will assist the sector’s regulator in helping Zimbabwean leaf tobacco farmers diversify their operations.
Contractors Required to Supply Tree Seedlings
The goal is to provide Zimbabwean growers with a sustainable source of curing fuel, according to TIMB.
Zimbabwe: Preparation for Growing Season on Track
Anticipating favorable rainfall and temperatures, farmers are confident they can produce 300 million kg.
Land Reform Beneficiaries to Receive Tenure
The measure will allow Zimbabwean tobacco growers to use their properties as collateral for loans.
TIMB Deploys Biometrics to Curb Side Marketing
The system makes it impossible for farmers in Zimbabwe to contract with multiple tobacco merchants.
Atlas to Increase Air-Cured Production
The approach boosts farmers’ returns while protecting the environment, says the firm.
Zimbabwe Firms Seek Help Entering Foreign Markets
Currently, many local tobacco companies trade predominantly on the domestic market.
Zimbabwe Growers Start Planting Irrigated Tobacco
The bulk of rain-fed tobacco crop will be planted from late October to early December.
Tobacco Board Leaders Arrested for Fraud
Patrick Devenish and Meanwell Gudu are accused of extending an unauthorized loan.
Zimbabwe Poised to Set New Records
Stakeholders expect it to surpass previous milestones in terms of area and output.
Kutsaga Releases Climate Resilient Seeds
The varieties will help growers cope with increasingly challenging climatic conditions.
Zimbabwean Cigarette Exports up by Half
But the leaf tobacco power-house ranks only 42nd among cigarette exporters globally.
Zimbabwe Pioneers Centralized Curing
The project aims to reduce cost, raise efficiency and boost sustainability for smallholders.
Zimbabwean Firm to Turn Leaf Waste Into Agrochemicals
The technology could help farmers diversify income.
Farmers Earn $1.3 Million From Shisha Leaf
Zimbabwean yield projections dropped to 500,000 kg due to the El Nino weather pattern.
Cut Rag Processors to Open Factory in Harare
The move fits with Zimbabwe’s objective to move up the tobacco value chain.
Gaining Momentum
Cavendish Lloyd is eager to expand shisha tobacco production in Zimbabwe and elsewhere.
Zimbabwe Leaf Sales Reach $721 Million
Despite effects from El Nino, fewer bales have been rejected this year compared to last year.
Zimbabwe Cigar Tobacco Marketing Season Opens
The first sale recorded a high price of $7.05 per kilogram.
Farmers Want Improved Local Funding
Most Zimbabwean growers rely on foreign buyers to finance their operations.
Leaf Sales Down
An El Nino-induced drought depressed the volumes cultivated in Zimbabwe this year.
Investor Plans Nicotine Extraction in Zimbabwe
The Chinese facility will obtain nicotine for use in cigarette alternatives, such as vapes.
Digital Tobacco Platform Launched
ModernLeaf AI aims to increase productivity for Zimbabwe’s tobacco growers and exporters
Zimbabwe Tobacco Export Earnings Jump
The country is keen to extract more revenue from the business by moving up the value chain.
Zimbabwe: Farmers Urged to Clear Fields
Growers who fail to comply with the agricultural hygiene law will face penalties,says Kutsaga.
Officers Told to Stop Demanding Kickbacks
Some are reportedly coercing farmers to transport their leaf using only certain vehicles.
Zimbabwean Shisha Crop Selling Rapidly
The current average price is 15 percent higher than the 2023 season average.
Zim Growers Warned Against ‘Nesting’
Farmers hiding foreign materials in bales risk stiff penalties, says TIMB.
Leaf Earnings up in Zimbabwe
Yet farmers believe they should be getting even more, pointing to the record prices in Brazil.
Zimbabwe Seed Producer Shuts Down
The Research Board assures the industry that supply will not be compromised.
Zimbabwe Aims for $60 Billion Tobacco Industry
The government wants to increase value addition to more than 30 percent.
Harare to Hosts First WT Africa Conference
The organizers are expecting more than 2,000 key professionals to participate.
Zimbabwe: Auction Prices Hit Record High
Auction prices have increased 26 percent while contract prices have increased 13 percent.
Zim Growers Worried About Price Fixing
Auction prices have been trailing those offered to the country’s contract farmers.
Cigarette Manufacturing to Increase
A new cigarette manufacturing plant is expected to double Zimbabwe’s output.
Sales Reach $13 Million as Season Starts
The highest price at auction was $4.99 per kg while the contract floor saw $6.50 per kg.
Call for Climate-Proof Agriculture in Zimbabwe
Irrigation would allow farmers to cope with drought, says Minister Anxious Masuka.
Zimbabwe Tobacco Season Opens
Auction floors sell 5 percent of the crop but are considered the major price setter.
Zimbabwe Crop Down 10 Percent
An El Nino drought has slashed volumes but raised farmers’ hopes for strong pricing.
TIMB Licenses 32 Contractors
Zimbabwe’s tobacco auctions open March 13, with contract floors opening March 14.
Zimbabwean Growers Urged to Grade Properly
Growers should pay close attention to color, quality, length and style, says Kutsaga.
Zimbabwean Shisha Production Set to Triple
Tobacco growers have planted 407 ha, marking a 270 percent increase over last year’s area.
Zimbabwe Prepares for Marketing Season
Tobacco auction floors will open March 13. Contract floors will open March 14.
Zimbabwe Markets to Open March 13
Industry representatives expect firm prices this year to help offset higher production costs.
Zimbabwe Farmers Demand Premiums
Tobacco growers want a greater share of the wealth generated by exports of their golden leaf.
Diversification in Africa: FCTC No Help
Small-scale growers in particular remain heavily dependent on tobacco.
Zimbabwe Exports Up
The country earned nearly 3.5 times as much from tobacco sales this month than it did in the comparable 2023 period.
Farmers Told to Destroy Seedbeds or Risk Arrest
The measure aims to stop tobacco diseases carrying over from one season to the next.
Zimbabwe Farmers: Start 2024 Market Early
Growers want an earlier start to the tobacco market season to avoid potential storage losses.
Kutsaga Blacklists EDB Soil Fumigation Agent
The research board is evaluating new active ingredients.
Zimbabwe: Commercial Shisha Hectars Increase
Currently, Cavendish Lloyd is the only TIMB registered and licensed shisha merchant.