Category: News This Week

  • Call for Climate-Proof Agriculture in Zimbabwe

    Call for Climate-Proof Agriculture in Zimbabwe

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    Smallholder farmers, who are the backbone of Zimbabwe’s tobacco farming industry, should have access to affordable irrigation facilities, according to the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement Anxious Masuka.

    This years tobacco growing season was impacted by an El Nino-induced drought, which caused leaf volumes to be 10 percent below those of last year’s record 296 million kg.

    “We must take innovative ways to climate-proof agriculture,” Masuka was quoted as saying at the opening of the marketing season by The Star. “Seventy-five percent of our tobacco is grown by the smallholder sector who invariably depend on the rains to plant their tobacco.”

    The start of the tobacco marketing season is an important event in Zimbabwe’s farming calendar, as tobacco is the country’s largest agricultural export.

    Tobacco exports earned Zimbabwe nearly $1 billion in 2023, according to the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board.

    This year the first bale of the golden leaf was auctioned for $4.92 per kg compared to $4.35 last year.

  • Zimbabwe Tobacco Season Opens

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Season Opens

    Image: Taco Tuinstra

    Zimbabwe’s auction floors opened today, with high expectations for better prices this season compared to last year, according to The Herald. Deliveries of the contract crop start tomorrow.

    Tobacco growers in the country faced poor rains this season, but those with a good crop expect better prices due to demand. The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) stated that Zimbabwe exported 233,896,182 kg valued at $1.22 billion as of Dec. 15, 2023. The average price for shipments was $5.23 per kilogram.

    The auction floors only sell about 5 percent of the crop but are considered the major price setter compared to the contract floors.

    Farmers will receive 75 percent of their earnings in foreign currency with the remaining 25 percent in local currency.

    Only two auction floors have been licensed this year by the TIMB to buy leaf, the Tobacco Sales Floor and Premier Tobacco Auction Floors (PTAF).

    “We have finished all preparations,” Owen Murumbi, PTAF chairman, said yesterday. “The banks are now lined up, EcoCash and Mukuru are all there to bring more convenience to the farmers.

    “We have started receiving bales. We should surpass last year’s figures although the volumes are low. We don’t expect them to go down. Farmers need to come, and we are offering excellent services. We are starting with Mukuru and EcoCash on day one. This should improve payment systems for farmers.

    “Tobacco sales floors should implement strict age verification processes to ensure that only adults can access the premises. All selling points shall ensure there are no children under 18 in and around selling premises, tobacco processing factories and any other tobacco storage and handling facilities.

    “Sales floors should prominently display awareness campaigns that highlight the issue of child labor in tobacco production, posters and educational materials that provide information about the harmful and unethical practices associated with child labor.”

    The TIMB has created a transporter compliance framework that will work toward developing a system that monitors movement of tobacco from the primary source to the market. The framework is expected to minimize losses, enhance farmer viability and improve livelihoods and aims to curb side marketing, tobacco bale theft, bale swapping and forgery on stop order launching.

    “We appeal to the authorities to ensure that tobacco sold at the auction floors get similar prices with the one which is sold at the contract floors,” said Barbra Marava of Banket. “Farmers incur similar costs, and there is no reason to offer them different prices like before.”

  • Pyxus Achieves Supplier Engagement Leadership

    Pyxus Achieves Supplier Engagement Leadership

    Image: Prostock-studio

    Pyxus International has been recognized by environmental nonprofit CDP as a Supplier Engagement Leader. Pyxus ranked among the top tier of companies featured on CDP’s Supplier Engagement Leaderboard for its effectiveness in working with its suppliers, particularly contracted growers, to address climate change.  

    Pyxus’ 2023 Supplier Engagement Rating ranked the company above the industry, North America and global averages and reflects its improved environmental performance, as evidenced by its 11 percent year-over-year reduction of value-chain-related emissions (scope 3), according to a company press release.

    “Our sustainability journey cannot be traveled alone. Collaborating with our contracted farmers and other upstream suppliers to reduce our company’s scope 3 emissions is pivotal to achieving our carbon neutrality targets and delivering stakeholder value,” said Pyxus President and CEO Pieter Sikkel in a statement. “We are honored to receive Supplier Engagement Leadership status, CDP’s highest level of recognition, confirming that we are truly working together to grow a better world.”

    A company’s Supplier Engagement Rating is derived from information submitted during CDP’s annual climate change disclosure process and assesses a business’ governance, targets, scope 3 emissions and supplier engagement performance. In February, Pyxus achieved Leadership status in CDP’s climate change category.

  • California Firm Sues Zyn Makers

    California Firm Sues Zyn Makers

    Tobacco Reporter archives

    A law group in California has filed a lawsuit against Philip Morris in the state’s Southern District. The Schmidt National Law Group claims that the maker of Zyn is targeting children and young adults with its flavored nicotine pouches.

    “Now comes along Zyn the chewing gum, and the common denominator of all these nicotine delivery systems is as far as targeting towards kids, and I’m talking about kids, middle school, high school, younger and younger,” said Martin Schmidt, managing attorney at The Schmidt National Law Group.

    Although a person must be at least 21 years old to purchase the product legally, Schmidt says it is very accessible to people younger than 21. The class action lawsuit seeks “damages” from Philip Morris and Schmidt said he would like stricter limits on access to the product, according to media reports.

    The case could take years to work its way through the litigation process, according to Schmidt.

  • IQOS Iluma i Debuts in Japan

    IQOS Iluma i Debuts in Japan

    Photo: Ned Snowman

    Philip Morris International has launched IQOS Iluma i, the latest and most innovative addition to its growing portfolio of smoke-free products, in Japan. The launch marks the 10-year anniversary of IQOS, which debuted in Nagoya, Japan, in 2014.

    “We leverage science, world leading brands and commercial capabilities to provide better alternatives to our consumers. This anniversary provides an opportunity to renew our smoke-free vision and our ambition for over two-thirds of our total net revenue to come from smoke-free products by 2030,” said PMI CEO Jacek Olczak in a statement.

    “IQOS Iluma disrupted the category by introducing induction-heating technology that heats tobacco from within, to provide a consistent taste experience, no tobacco residue, and no need to clean the device. Today, we take IQOS to new heights, with the launch of IQOS Iluma i—the latest innovation in our smoke-free portfolio, offering a range of advanced features for a clean, seamless, and more flexible experience.”

    The IQOS Iluma i series offers three devices in Japan: IQOS Iluma i PRIME, IQOS Iluma i and IQOS Iluma i ONE. All three devices bring a range of adaptable new features.

    The new touch screen on the device’s holder allows users to see experience-relevant information quickly and easily. To personalize the experience, IQOS Iluma i introduces a new pause mode. By swiping up or down on the touch screen, users can pause and resume their consumption according to their preferences.

    The new IQOS Iluma i also includes smart features that help prolong the lifespan of the holder’s battery. Furthermore, the door for IQOS Iluma i is made from aluminum produced with renewable energy and the inner textile layer of IQOS Iluma i’s Prime leather-like wrap is made of 100 percent recycled plastic.

    “IQOS Iluma i is our most innovative offering to date and the new flagship in our portfolio of scientifically substantiated, heat-not-burn smoke-free systems,” said Bertrand Bonvin, president heat-not-burn platforms at PMI. “Like previous IQOS devices, it emits, on average, 95 percent lower levels of harmful chemicals compared with cigarettes. We are proud that consumer feedback continuously fuels our innovation, and IQOS Iluma i is a testament to that.”

  • Zimbabwe Crop Down 10 Percent

    Zimbabwe Crop Down 10 Percent

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    An El Nino-induced drought has slashed volumes but raised farmers’ hopes for strong pricing.

    Zimbabwe’s tobacco volume is likely to be at least 10 percent below last year’s record 296 million kg due to drought, reports Reuters.

    The growing season was impacted by El Nino, a natural climate phenomenon in which the surface waters of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become unusually warm, causing changes in global weather patterns.

    At 113,000 hectares, the tobacco growing area this season was 3 percent smaller than that of last year. Yields per hectare were down, as well.

    Following an ambitious land reform in the 2000s, Zimbabwean tobacco production is dominated by smallholder farmers who lack irrigation systems.

    Zimbabwe’s two licensed Harare auction floors, which handle approximately 5 percent of the country’s tobacco crop, are scheduled to open tomorrow. Deliveries for the far-larger contract sales will commence on Friday.

    Contract tobacco sales will be conducted not only in Harare, but also at approved decentralized selling centers in the countryside. These were set up during Covid-19 to minimize travel but proved so successful that they were maintained after the pandemic receded.

  • ITC Shares Jump on BAT Sale

    ITC Shares Jump on BAT Sale

    Timon Schneider/Wirestock

    ITC’s share price jumped more than 8 percent on March 13 after British American Tobacco sold a $2 billion stake in the Indian conglomerate, reports Reuters.

    The share price had initially fallen in the wake of BAT’s original announcement, as investors were uncertain of the transaction’s conditions.

    The sale of 436.9 million shares, representing about 3.5 percent of ITC’s outstanding shares, still leaves BAT with a stake of more than 25 percent in the company.

    Cigarettes are ITC’s largest business, accounting for more than 40 percent of its revenue. The company has been working to consolidate its business, with plans to spin off its hotel business.

    BAT said it intends to use the net proceeds to buy back BAT shares over a period ending December 2025, starting with £700 million in 2024. “This will enable the allocation of operating cashflow to fund investment in our transformation, continue to deleverage towards our new target range of 2-2.5x adjusted net debt/adjusted EBITDA, while also maintaining a progressive dividend and supporting a sustainable share buyback,” the company wrote on its website.

  • BAT India to Sell Shares of ITC

    BAT India to Sell Shares of ITC

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    BAT’s wholly owned subsidiary Tobacco Manufacturers (India) intends to sell up to 436,851,457 ordinary shares in ITC to institutional investors. The trade shares represent up to approximately 3.5 percent of ITC’s issued ordinary share capital.

    Following completion of the proposed block trade, BAT’s shareholding in ITC will be approximately 25.5 percent.

    BAT intends to use the net proceeds of the trade to buy back BAT shares over a period ending December 2025, starting with £700 million ($892.9 million) in 2024. BAT will continue to allocate operating cashflow to fund investment in its transformation and to further deleverage.

    Going forward, the key elements of capital allocation at BAT will include continued investment in its transformation; progressive dividends; continued deleverage to a new range of 2 times to 2.5 times adjusted net debt/adjusted EBITDA; and sustainable share buybacks, according to the company.

    “I am confident that ITC, under the stewardship of its current management, will continue to create further value for its shareholders,” said BAT CEO Tadeu Marroco in a statement. “We look forward to remaining important shareholders in ITC as it continues its journey of growth. With this transaction, BAT can accelerate the start of a sustainable buyback while enabling us to continue to deleverage toward a new target range of 2 [times] to 2.5 times adjusted net debt/adjusted EBITDA.”

  • Consumer Group Says No to PMTA Registries

    Consumer Group Says No to PMTA Registries

    U.S. states must recognize the unintended consequences of passing laws requiring premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) registries for alternative nicotine products such as vaping devices, heaters, and nicotine pouches, according to the Consumer Choice Center, an organization claiming to represent consumers in more than 100 countries.

    In the first months of 2024, more than a dozen bills have been introduced in U.S. states calling for a state-based registry for alternative nicotine products. Such legislation has already been passed in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Alabama.

    “While the intention behind these bills is to manage consumer access to unregulated nicotine products on the illicit market, the reality is that the FDA is not approving enough new devices and products to create a competitive, regulated marketplace that meets consumer demand,” said Elizabeth Hicks, U.S. affairs analyst at the Consumer Choice Center.

    While 26 million nicotine alternative products submitted PMTAs to the Food and Drug Administration, only 23 have been approved. Of those 23 approved products, 12 are tobacco-flavored e-liquid refills.

    “The FDA is hiding the ball here on product approvals and how few new products are actually coming to market. If the goal is to improve public health across the country, then consumers deserve to choose from a variety of different nicotine alternatives,” said Hicks.

    The Consumer Choice Centers urges state legislatures to refrain from adding to counterproductive federal policies and instead advance tobacco harm reduction through a competitive marketplace.

  • Okman Joins Filtrona as Commercial Director

    Okman Joins Filtrona as Commercial Director

    Lutfu Okman (Photo courtesy of Filtrona)

    Filtrona has appointed Lutfu Okman as its new global commercial director.

    Okman brings with him over 25 years of commercial leadership experience, including senior management roles with multinational companies in the textiles, chemical and manufacturing industries.

    He succeeds Hywel Thomas, who has announced his retirement after 10 years with the company.

    “We are really pleased to welcome Lutfu to the Filtrona family,” said Filtrona CEO Robert Pye in a statement. “His proven track record of strategic commercial growth and wealth of experience make him an ideal fit for the role, and he is primed to drive our ambitious growth strategy. Lutfu plays a pivotal role in shaping Filtrona’s commercial endeavors and fostering sustainable long-term growth.”

    “I am thrilled to join Filtrona at such an exciting time in its journey, particularly during the 100-year anniversary of the company’s first patented filter,” said Okman. “I look forward to collaborating with the talented and passionate Filtrona team to drive our commercial strategy, deliver exceptional value to our customers, and contribute to the company’s continued growth.”

    Pye also expressed his gratitude for Thomas’ dedication and contributions to Filtrona. “Hywel’s leadership, strategic vision, and sharp business acumen have been invaluable to Filtrona, helping to make us the successful and dynamic global business that we are today. We sincerely thank Hywel and wish him the very best in his well-earned retirement.”