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Category: Agriculture & Sustainability

  • Zimbabwe Tobacco Farmers Want Forex Review as Season Approaches

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Farmers Want Forex Review as Season Approaches

    As Zimbabwe prepares for the March 4 opening of the 2026 tobacco marketing season, growers are urging authorities to review the 70:30 foreign currency retention policy, arguing that receiving 30% of payments in local currency (ZiG) erodes profits as most production costs are pegged in U.S. dollars. Zimbabwe Tobacco Growers Association chairman George Seremwe said farmers are ready for the season but want the policy aligned with input costs, while Tobacco Farmers Union Trust president Edward Dune noted that fertilizers and other inputs are sold in foreign currency, reducing the real value of local currency payments. The marketing season, announced by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), will coincide with the launch of the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan 2, which targets 500 million kg annually by 2030, with more than 400 million kg expected this year.

    TIMB said it has licensed 48 contractors and 46 Class A buyers for the 2025/26 season, with three auction floors — Tobacco Sales Floor, Premier Tobacco Auction Floors and Ethical Sales Floor — set to operate. Authorities are also cracking down on side marketing and informal buyers offering low prices, while farmer groups including the Zimbabwe National Farmers Union have urged growers to sell through formal channels to secure better returns. With 113,327 registered growers and a 15% increase in planted hectarage, officials say the 2026 crop outlook remains positive, reinforcing Zimbabwe’s position as Africa’s leading tobacco producer.

  • Malawi’s MNT Concerned Over CSR, Rogue Farmers  

    Malawi’s MNT Concerned Over CSR, Rogue Farmers  

    Malawi’s Media Network on Tobacco (MNT) raised alarm over what it describes as persistently low levels of corporate social responsibility among tobacco buying companies, urging them to take meaningful steps to support farmers and surrounding communities. Speaking during an interface meeting with journalists, MNT President Alfred Chauwa also condemned the growing practice of farmers selling their tobacco before the official market opening, warning that it exposes them to exploitation. He said some farmers are accepting prices as low as K4,000 ($2.32) per kg, a move he described as damaging to livelihoods and the broader tobacco value chain.

    Chauwa encouraged farmers to diversify into early maturing crops in line with the Tobacco Industry Act, which promotes agricultural diversification. He further highlighted the effects of climate change on farming, calling for increased participation in tree-planting initiatives to restore the environment. Expressing concern over declining tobacco quality in several areas, he urged farmers to adopt best agricultural practices to secure better prices. Chauwa also appealed to the government to deploy more extension workers to provide technical support, saying improved guidance is critical to boosting productivity, quality, and long-term sustainability in the tobacco sector.

  • Pyxus Reports Strong 3Q Results

    Pyxus Reports Strong 3Q Results

    Pyxus International reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 net income of $16.9 million, with adjusted EBITDA holding steady at $80 million, as increased shipping volumes and third-party processing offset lower leaf product revenues. Quarterly sales fell to $655.8 million from $778.3 million a year earlier, largely due to shipment timing and lower average pricing in South America. The company reaffirmed full-year guidance of $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion in net sales and $215 million to $235 million in adjusted EBITDA, while warning that strong global crop production could lead to oversupply heading into fiscal 2027.

    Tobacco inventory at the end of the third quarter was $959.8 million, compared to $755.2 million at the same time last year, reflecting procurement of the larger current crops. Uncommitted inventory as a percentage of total processed tobacco remains unchanged from the prior year. At December 31, 2025, uncommitted inventory was $28 million, or 3.6%, of the $768.6 million in total processed inventory, compared to $21.9 million, or 3.6%, of total processed inventory of $603.3 million at December 31, 2024.

  • Russia Begins Shipping Tobacco to North Korea

    Russia Begins Shipping Tobacco to North Korea

    Russia exported more than 110 tons of tobacco valued at over $700,000 to North Korea in 2025, according to estimates from the Agroexport federal center. The shipments mark the introduction of Russian tobacco products to the North Korean market, where they had not previously been supplied. The expansion formed part of broader growth in Russian agricultural exports to North Korea, which also included beer and rapeseed oil.

  • Bangladesh Bans Tobacco Farming by River to Protect Fish

    Bangladesh Bans Tobacco Farming by River to Protect Fish

    Bangladesh’s interim government halted tobacco cultivation in the Halda River basin in Manikchhari upazila, Khagrachhari district, in a move aimed at protecting the river’s biodiversity and fisheries resources. The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock said coordinated efforts by local authorities and the Department of Fisheries ensured no tobacco was planted this year, following a notification last year banning cultivation in the basin due to concerns over pesticide use and water pollution. Authorities are now promoting alternative crops such as mustard, maize, and vegetables to support farmers while safeguarding the Halda River, which is Bangladesh’s only natural carp breeding ground and a designated fisheries heritage site.

  • BAT Closure Leading S. Africa to ‘Warehouse Economy’

    BAT Closure Leading S. Africa to ‘Warehouse Economy’

    The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) warned that South Africa is sliding toward a “warehouse economy” following British American Tobacco’s decision to shut its Heidelberg manufacturing plant and shift to imports. SAFTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the closure would cost around 200 direct jobs and thousands more indirectly, arguing it reflects a broader pattern of deindustrialization as multinational companies scale back local production.

    SAFTU urged Parliament to halt the Tobacco Control Bill in its current form, warning it could further weaken legal tobacco manufacturers while strengthening illicit trade, which Vavi said already accounts for roughly 75% of cigarette sales. BAT cited rampant illegal cigarettes as a key factor behind the closure, noting that illicit trade has weighed on its South African operations and financial performance. SAFTU is calling for a full socioeconomic impact assessment of the bill, while BAT has pushed for stronger enforcement and a minimum retail price to curb illegal sales.

  • DR Opens School for Tobacco Artisans

    DR Opens School for Tobacco Artisans

    The National Institute of Technical and Vocational Training (INFOTEP), in partnership with the Association of Dominican Cigar Manufacturers (Procigar), has opened the Procigar–INFOTEP School of Tobacco Artisans in Tamboril, Santiago, to support workforce development in the Dominican premium cigar sector. The program will initially train 88 participants across four groups, each completing 135 hours of hands-on instruction covering cigar production processes, including leaf selection, blending, bunching, finishing, and quality control. The school, which accommodates 24 students per course with flexible scheduling, is intended to preserve craftsmanship, expand employment opportunities, and strengthen the Dominican Republic’s position in the global premium cigar market through public-private collaboration.

  • FAIFA: Tax Hike Will Harm Millions of Indian Tobacco Farmers

    FAIFA: Tax Hike Will Harm Millions of Indian Tobacco Farmers

    A new report by the Federation of All India Farmer Associations (FAIFA), developed with Artha Arbitrage Consulting LLP, warns that India’s revised tobacco tax regime, which took effect Feb. 1, could significantly disrupt the country’s flue-cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco sector. The policy reintroduced central excise duties on cigarettes and raised the GST rate on tobacco products to 40% while removing the GST compensation cess, increasing the overall tax burden. The report estimates the changes could reduce FCV crop offtake by nearly 20% and eliminate approximately 2.6 million man-days of employment across farming and related supply chain activities. It also projects illicit cigarette consumption could rise by roughly 39%, potentially exceeding 46 billion sticks, as higher prices shift demand toward unregulated products, while ongoing tax disparities between FCV-based products and other tobacco categories continue to contribute to declining FCV acreage and grower participation.

  • India Withdraws 18% Duty on Unmanufactured Tobacco

    India Withdraws 18% Duty on Unmanufactured Tobacco

    India’s Union government withdrew the 18% central excise duty on unbranded, unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco refuse for retail sale, according to a gazette notification issued on Feb. 1, 2026, the same day the Union Budget for 2026–27 was presented. The move revokes a duty imposed in December 2025 and follows representations from tobacco farmers and industry stakeholders, including a delegation led by the Tobacco Board chairman, who warned the tax would burden growers and disrupt the market. The withdrawal does not affect existing excise duties on cigarettes, which remain unchanged and continue to be levied based on stick length.

  • Withheld Funds Crippling Philippine Tobacco Farmers

    Withheld Funds Crippling Philippine Tobacco Farmers

    Billions of pesos (1 peso currently equals 0.017 USD) in tobacco excise tax shares earmarked for Philippine tobacco-growing provinces from 2023 to 2025 remain unreleased, triggering mounting frustration among industry leaders and farmers in the Ilocos region, according to the Philippine Star. Long regarded as the “Solid North” that underpinned President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s electoral support, tobacco farmers now warn that the government’s failure to remit funds mandated under Republic Act 7171 threatens rural livelihoods amid rising production costs. Industry representatives said the prolonged delay has crippled critical programs intended to support farmer self-reliance and local development.

    Former Ilocos Sur governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, author of RA 7171, said that despite the signing of the P6.79-trillion ($115.4 billion) 2026 national budget, excise tax shares from the previous three years remain unpaid. He warned that the withholding of funds has created service gaps that undermine socio-economic stability in tobacco-producing areas, preventing local government units from addressing urgent needs and advancing infrastructure and agricultural projects. Singson emphasized that tobacco remains a pillar of the national economy and that the law was designed to provide local government units with consistent, predictable resources.

    Singson expressed cautious optimism that the appointment of Acting Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo could help resolve compliance bottlenecks delaying the releases. He urged the national government to honor its commitments, calling for the funds to be released within 30 days to avert further hardship. Pointing to Ilocos Sur’s plans to expand irrigation, road networks, and tourism infrastructure, he described it as ironic that excise tax shares vital to these initiatives remain withheld, despite the province being recognized by the Commission on Audit as the country’s richest.