Brazilian Crop Reaches 605.7 Million Kg

Tobacco growers in southern Brazil harvested 605.7 million kg of leaf in 2022-2023—8.1 percent more than in the previous growing season, reports Kohltrade, citing figures from the Brazilian Tobacco Growers’ Association Afubra.

The crop included 551.59 million kg of flue-cured Virginia and 46.47 million kg of burley. The area devoted to tobacco production in the region was up 6.1 percent to 261,740 ha.

Growers received an average price of BRL18.12 ($3.72) per kg this year, up 6.5 percent over the average price paid by buyers in 2021-2022.

Observers expect a slight increase in the amount of tobacco planted for the 2023-2024 growing season.

Tobacco transplanting began earlier than normal this year and is already being finalized on most farms in southern Brazil. Adapting to higher temperatures and less rainfall during the growing season, tobacco growers have been gradually bringing transplanting forward in recent years.

Tobacco is a major economic pillar in southern Brazil. There are more than 124,000 tobacco farmers spread across 491 municipalities in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná.