Tag: Brazil

Industry Supports Flood Victims in Brazil
The people of Santa Cruz do Sul are resilient and SindiTabaco is confident the region will recover from the recent natural disaster. (Video: Taco Tuinstra)
The tobacco industry is coming together to assist Brazilians in Rio Grande do Sul, which in early May suffered the biggest floods in the state’s history, particularly in the Rio Pardo Valley region.
As one of the world’s leading tobacco growing areas, Rio Grande do Sul plays a key role in global leaf supply (see “The Great Scramble,” Tobacco Reporter, May 2023). To help flood victims, the Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco) and its member companies have been carrying out various initiatives.
Among other things, local tobacco companies have continued paying salaries to employees unable to come to work as a result of the floods.
The trade group and its members have also been donating basic food items, cleaning supplies, hygiene kits, and furniture, providing personal loans for reconstruction to associates, and offering mental support from psychologists.
In addition, tobacco companies and associations have also donated power generators and water tanks, as well as boats and vehicles for rescuing stranded people and animals.

Many tobacco operations were brought to a standstill by the floods, but gradually resumed operations the next week, according to SindiTabaco. (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
Iro Schuenke
According to SindiTabaco, most tobacco operations came to a standstill after the floods hit on April 30, and gradually resumed the following week. “This is a crisis of an unprecedented degree, in which basic services are in jeopardy, like the lack of drinkable water and scarce communication,” said SindiTabaco President Iro Schunke in a statement.
Many member companies in the affected regions, he added, had difficulties contacting their employees.
In addition to looking after their employees, the tobacco companies are now working on recovery plans for their contracted farmers. According to Schunke, Brazil’s widely acclaimed integrated production system is now giving contractors a good grasp of the needs of the impacted growers. The high per-kilo earnings from this year’s crop should help farmers in the recovery process.
“The upcoming tobacco crop is in its initial phase and we are going to do a survey to come to grips with the losses that occurred. Just like what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are going to move forward with resilience, joining efforts toward what has to be done,” said Schunke.
Readers wishing to support relief efforts in southern Brazil, can donate to the Rotary Club of Venancio Aires, which is headed by Inacio Leisman of Tabacos Marasca (see chart for bank details).
According to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Brazil exported 512 million kg of tobacco with a value of $2.73 billion in 2023.

May 14, 2024

The Great Scramble

Buyers have been paying record prices to secure their shares of Brazil’s smaller-than-expected tobacco crop.

By Taco Tuinstra

On March 21, a ferocious storm tore through Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul. The wind flattened numerous outdoor pavilions at the Expoagro exhibition in Rio Pardo, forcing its organizer, tobacco growers’ association Afubra, to close the event for a day and repair the damaged stands. In a more welcome development, the tempest brought relief from the heat wave that had been making life tough for those toiling in the region’s numerous fields and leaf processing facilities.

But while Expoagro reopened to large crowds and the temperature dropped to more tolerable levels in the wake of the storm, other pressures on the industry continued unabated throughout the selling season. Alliance One Brazil Leaf Production Director Samuel Streck, who has worked in the business for two decades, described this year’s crop as the most challenging in his career, and his view was echoed by many other industry veterans throughout the Brazilian tobacco sector during Tobacco Reporter’s visit to the region in March.

A significantly smaller-than-expected crop, acute labor shortages and record-high prices, along with heightened scrutiny of tobacco farming in the wake of the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), have kept the Brazilian leaf sector on its toes this year.

Low Yields, High Quality

It wasn’t supposed to be that way. When planting for the 2023-2024 crop started in May last year, the industry predicted a volume increase of about 10 percent over the previous season, when the country’s growers harvested some 605.7 million kg of all tobacco types, according to Afubra.

At first, the weather conditions appeared to validate that assessment, but then El Nino hit. The recurring weather phenomenon, which typically boosts precipitation in South America, had been anticipated but turned out much more intense than normal. From mid-July until the end of November, El Nino dumped unprecedented volumes of rain on southern Brazil, leading to flooding in lower lying areas. Accompanied by many sunless days, the wet conditions depressed yields not only in Rio Grande do Sul but also in Santa Catarina and Parana, the three southern states that together account for 98 percent of Brazil’s tobacco production. (The remaining volumes grow primarily in Bahia and are used to make cigars.)

Crop	Hectares planted	Production (million kg)	Leaf export earnings
2023	261,740	605.7	$2.66 billion
2022	246,590	560.18	$2.24 billion
2021	273,356	628.49	$1.31 billion
2020	290,397	633.02	$1.47 billion
2019	297,310	664.36	$1.99 billion
2018	297,460	685.98	$1.85 billion
2017	298,530	705.93	$1.96 billion
2016	271,070	525.22	$2.01 billion
2015	308,260	697.65	$2.06 billion
2014	323,700	731.39	$2.35 billion
2013	313,575	712.75	$3.09 billion
Sources: Afubra/SindiTabaco

Instead of a 10 percent boost, the industry was now looking at a 20 percent drop in volume from 2023. By late March, Afubra was expecting about 470 million kg of flue-cured Virginia (FCV) and roughly 40 million kg of burley.

But even as the excessive rainfall slashed yields, it worked wonders for leaf quality. Brazil’s 2024 crop boasts good color, uniformity and smoking properties, according to buyers. High oil levels give this year’s leaf a better visual appearance than in 2023. What in the previous year was predominantly light orange to orange is this year orange to deep orange, observed Kohltrade in a recent crop report. “It’s perfect, in my opinion,” said Kohltrade Account Executive Simone Velasques.

And it’s not just looks that set this crop apart; the tobacco smokes exceptionally well, according to Eduardo Renner, president and CEO of CTA-Continental. “That’s also the feedback we are getting from customers,” he said. On the flipside, the rain also suppressed nicotine levels in this year’s tobacco. According to Jay Barker of YTL, the excess rainfall has resulted in below-average chemistries across the board. Because the wet season followed three consecutive dry ones, the gap in nicotine levels between the current crop and the previous one is greater than normal, which may challenge some customers in creating their desired blends.

Chasing Tobacco

The combination of low volume and high quality, along with a persisting post-Covid-19 tobacco shortage at the global level, sparked a scramble among tobacco companies in Brazil to secure their requirements. As a producer of sought-after flavor tobacco, Brazil has only two true competitors on the world market—Zimbabwe and the United States. Zimbabwe, where El Nino brought drought instead of rain, is also looking at a smaller crop this year (albeit from a record volume in 2023), according to that country’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board. United States FCV production, meanwhile, has been stable for three years at just below 140 million kg, TMA figures suggest.

The shortage has been aggravated by the fact that last year some customers didn’t buy everything they needed because they were expecting cheaper tobacco this year. Coming out of the pandemic, many customers adopted a wait-and-see approach, carefully managing their stocks to avoid buying at high prices. Now, with inventories running out, those who didn’t buy last year had to buy this year.

According to local traders, Brazil’s leading tobacco buyers alone needed more leaf than the entire volume that was expected to come to the country’s market in 2024. Throughout the season, the vertically integrated companies—BAT, Philip Morris International, Japan Tobacco International and China Tobacco—were buying far above list prices, paying top rates for all grades and leaving independent traders with no choice but to follow their lead.

The result has been an unprecedented escalation of leaf prices and an acceleration of deliveries. In mid-March, farmers were receiving up to $5.50 per kilogram of green tobacco, according to Kohltrade. For processed leaf, customers were paying up to $9.50 for grades that cost perhaps $5 only three years ago. “Prices are up, up, up,” observed Afubra President Marcilio Drescher.

Daison A. Kohl, who grows 2.7 hectares of tobacco in Vale do Sol, said he has never in his time on the farm witnessed such high prices and such fierce competition. Unlike many of his neighbors, Kohl contracts only with one buyer. Yet throughout the buying season, his phone rang nearly daily with representatives from other companies asking him to sell his leaf to them instead.

Kohl had to disappoint them all. “It doesn’t matter how much they offer; the tobacco is just not there,” he said. Merchants have been telling their customers a similar story. Whereas in a more typical year, they may exaggerate and say, “there is no tobacco” as a price negotiation tactic, this season it is simply a statement of fact.

The scramble for tobacco has also greatly accelerated the purchasing process, leaving some receiving stations struggling to keep up with the influx of leaf. At the time of Tobacco Reporter’s visit, leaf merchants were expecting farmers to run out of tobacco by the end of April—two months earlier than in 2023. “Customers who come late to Brazil may not find what they are looking for,” warned Velasques.

Labor Scarcity

For the growers, the 2024 marketing season has been a mixed bag. Even with record per-kilo prices, the additional income may not make up for the reduced weight that they are bringing to market, according to Afubra. Kohl, who suffered a 26 percent drop in yield from last year, said that as long as the companies continue paying above list prices, his operation will remain profitable this year. “But if they resort to paying list prices, it will be a problem,” he said.

While the cost of inputs such as fertilizer have been coming down from their Covid-19-induced and Ukraine war-induced spikes, a long-running shortage of labor has worsened in recent years, impacting both farmers and tobacco factories. But whereas tobacco buyers can mechanize operations such as rack loading and stripping, farmers have fewer options. With an average property size of 10.5 ha and an average area devoted to tobacco of only 3.29 ha, according to Afubra, the typical tobacco farm in southern Brazil is simply too small to justify the investment in equipment. What’s more, many of the tobacco growing activities lend themselves poorly to mechanization. There are no machines for delicate tasks such as sucker control and topping, for example.

Meanwhile, aware of their growing scarcity, farmhands have started driving harder bargains. In Vale do Sol, they have organized themselves in collectives, forcing farmers to negotiate with groups instead of individuals, according to Kohl. To guarantee a group’s labor throughout the growing season, he must pay a premium on top of the already inflated salaries.

Determined to control their cost of production, Kohl and his wife, Solange, carry out many of the tobacco farm activities, including land preparation, themselves. They hire labor for the first, second and third reapings, when the leaves are still thin and easily damaged and speed is of the essence. “If we don’t harvest quickly during that time, we will lose quality,” said Kohl. From the fourth reaping onward, the tobacco is thicker and less fragile, allowing the Kohls to harvest by themselves and save money on labor.

Their workload has been lightened a bit by a recent switch from bundles to loose leaf. In the past, growers in Brazil would classify their tobacco according to quality and color and then tie the leaf into bundles—a laborious process that could take up to two months. As demand increased, some buyers told farmers to skip this step and deliver the tobacco in loose form instead. The practice spread rapidly and has now been adopted by all merchants. After drying the tobacco, the farmer can take his tobacco directly from the barn to the bale and put it on a truck, not only saving time and labor but also greatly accelerating the speed of delivery.

While some buyers at first worried about how the new practice would impact processing, those concerns turned out to be manageable. “Loose leaf is not necessarily the best way to receive tobacco in terms of the feeding table and the presentation of each grade, but we quickly realized it’s possible,” said Streck. According to Renner, the process remains the same. “You can still tip and thresh the leaf because it is straight laid.”

Farmer Succession

The Kohls are happy with the change to loose leaf, as it allows them to focus on other farm activities. As they work their fields, they are occasionally joined by their oldest son of 34, who has no interest in farming but feels a duty to help on some evenings after he’s done with his day job. Their middle son (25) by contrast “does not even want to see the tobacco,” according to Kohl, while their youngest (8) is too little to work on the farm. (Brazilian law requires tobacco workers to be at least 18 years of age, and following intense industry-led awareness campaigns, the country’s sector today is considered a role model in in eradicating child labor.)

The Kohls’ family dynamics hint at another challenge facing Brazil’s tobacco business: farmer succession. Like their counterparts around the world, many rural youngsters in Brazil aspire to work in the city, which has led to an exodus of skills and talent from the countryside. “Keiner will die Finger mehr dreckig machen”—nobody wants to soil their fingers anymore—observes Solange, who, like many people in southern Brazil, is more conversant in German than English as a foreign language.

A 2023 survey conducted by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul at the request of the Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco), revealed that with an average monthly income of BRL11,755.30 ($2,234.75), tobacco farming families in southern Brazil are relatively well off, earning considerably more than the average Brazilian family. The Kohls, for example, live in a spacious, well-built home equipped with plenty of conveniences and some luxuries, including a small swimming pool. Within agriculture, too, the golden leaf continues to generate the best returns, according to industry sources, contradicting the narrative pushed by certain nongovernmental organizations that tobacco leaves growers in poverty.

But while the earnings from tobacco farming exceed those of other crops, the golden leaf is also more demanding. Unlike some other agricultural products, the farmer cannot just plant it and watch it grow. A good tobacco farmer, notes Kohl, must constantly keep an eye on the plants. “The weather can change things very quickly,” he said. “If rain comes, it puts the leaves on the plants and—boom—they become big overnight. And if you don’t go in and take the flowers off and the wind comes, it can topple the plants.”

With no one lined up to take over the farm, the Kohls’ tobacco volumes will disappear from Afubra’s production statistics after they retire. “We have another 10 years, and then we’ll be gone,” said Kohl. Unfortunately for tobacco buyers, their situation is not exceptional. According to the University of Rio Grande do Sul study, 27 percent of the growers in southern Brazil have no succession plan.

Acutely aware of the demographic drain, the tobacco industry has been looking for ways to keep young adults in the countryside. Originally set up by SindiTabaco and its associate companies to help combat child labor in rural Brazil, the Growing Up Right Institute (also see “Alternatives for Adolescents,” Tobacco Reporter, April 2021) now also runs programs educating young people on the verge of adulthood about the opportunities on the farm. By teaching youngsters how to optimize farm operations through technology and professional management, the institute hopes to convince them that they can live good lives in the countryside.

According to program manager Nadia Fengler Solf, the initiative has had some success. Upon graduation from the program, she said, many students have a completely new perspective on the possibilities in the countryside. Some decide to develop their family properties, investing in new technologies and diversifying their business, while others elect to pursue degrees in agriculture.

COP Fallout

But even as the industry is working to keep farmers interested in tobacco, others are campaigning to steer them away. At COP10 in Panama, delegates vowed to step up action on Articles 17 and 18 of the treaty, which call for the promotion of economic alternatives for tobacco workers and the protection of the environment and health of tobacco workers, respectively. According to a speaker at this year’s Americas Regional meeting of International Tobacco Growers’ Association in Santa Cruz do Sol, the Panama COP could be the first to have a direct impact on the farm.

SindiTabaco President Iro Schunke dismisses the talk about alternative crops in Southern Brazil as unrealistic. “If we had another crop that generates the same income, farmers would have switched long ago on their own accord,” he said. Part of the problem, he explains, is the small average size of farm properties. “To replace the money from one hectare of tobacco, you need to grow 7 hectares of soybeans or 10 hectares of maize.” The pressure for diversification, meanwhile, is unnecessary, according to Schunke. “Tobacco farmers in Brazil are diversified already,” he said. While generating between 60 percent and 70 percent of the average grower’s income, tobacco claims only 20 percent of their property, according to SindiTabaco. Part of the money earned from tobacco is used to plant supplemental crops.

“If we had another crop that generates the same Income, farmers would have swItched long ago on theIr own accord.”
Iro Schunke, president, SindiTabaco

Brazil was one of the most vocal proponents of stricter tobacco controls at COP10, a position that Schunke considers odd, given that leaf tobacco accounts for 11 percent of Rio Grande do Sul’s exports, employs more than half a million farmworkers and earned Brazil an average of more than $2 billion annually through exports over the past 10 years (see chart). Schunke attributes the government’s tough stand to pressure from nongovernmental organizations and the exclusion of tobacco stakeholders from health policy debates along with an ideological aversion to capitalism.

Some suspect the government’s position is driven partially by ignorance, with bureaucrats in faraway Brasilia unaware of how much rural communities in the south of the country depend on the golden leaf. “Although hostility against tobacco from agencies all over the globe is the new status quo and the path of least resistance, the fact is, the economic impact to the communities where tobacco is prevalent is very significant,” says Barker.

Santa Cruz do Sul Mayor Helena Hermany believes that Brazil’s national health surveillance agency, Anvisa, grossly underestimates and misrepresents the industry’s economic significance. More than 50 percent of the city’s revenue comes from tobacco, she told participants in the ITGA Americas meeting. “If tobacco does well, we all do well,” she said.

If tobacco does well, we all do well.
Helena Hermany, mayor of Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

It terms of sustainability, the tobacco industry is also performing much better than it is given credit for. “We are doing quite well in terms of soil protection, reforestation and the prevention of child labor,” said Drescher. For example, Brazilian farmers are self-sufficient in curing energy, sourcing wood from dedicated plantations rather than indigenous trees.

According to Renner, sustainability is already an integrated part of everything the tobacco industry does. “Whatever we supply must cover these three capital letters,” he said, referring to the environmental, social and governance considerations that the abbreviation stands for. “What we do for our people, our clients, in our operations and in the communities we work with … our suppliers need to do for us.”

As they prepare for next season in the wake of this year’s short crop, industry stakeholders are keen to avoid a wild swing in the other direction. Emboldened by the high prices and keen to recover their lost volumes, many growers are likely to increase their plantings for the 2024–2025 season. Kohl, by contrast, is cautious, worrying that a surplus next year will depress prices, and he plans to plant the same hectarage as last year.

Others predict that the era of cheap Brazilian tobacco is over, not only due to demand-and-supply factors but also as a result of the considerable investments the local industry has made in sustainability. These investments should serve Brazil well as it moves into the new era, giving the country a competitive advantage against origins with less robust practices. At the same time, leaf merchants insist that the effort should be supported throughout the supply chain. ESG initiatives, after all, come at a cost that should be reflected in leaf prices. “It must be sustainable for all parties,” insisted Renner.

Taco Tuinstra is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial director.Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA, he coordinates the work of staff writers and contributors.On his watch, Tobacco Reporter has won several awards for editorial excellence.Since joining the magazine in 1997, Taco has visited more than 75 countries to meet industry representatives in their markets and to report tobacco news firsthand.

May 1, 2024

Brazil Agency Upholds Vaping Sales Ban

Image: VlaDee/pavlofox
The board of directors for the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) voted unanimously on April 19 to maintain a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes and other vaping products, reports Brazil Reports.
Manufacturing, selling, importing and advertising vapes has been banned in the country since 2009, but e-cigarettes remain widely available in small shops and online stores across Brazil.
According the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, 16.8 percent of students aged 13 to 17 said they had tried vaping at least once in their lives. An estimate 4 million Brazilians vape, according to Covitel, which carries out health-related surveys.
Anvisa’s vote follows a public consultation on the measure. Anvisa justified its position based on the rise in underage vaping in countries that permit e-cigarettes, the addictive properties of nicotine and the lack of long-term studies on the effects of vaping on health, along with the potential impact of allowing vaping on Brazil’s overall tobacco control policies, which have been praised internationally.
In July 2019, Brazil became the second country to fully implement all measures set out by the World Health Organization with the aim of reducing tobacco consumption and protecting people from chronic non-communicable diseases.
In voting to uphold the ban, Anvisa President Antônio Barra Torres cited a December 2023 World Health Organization publication recommending government prohibited electronic cigarettes based on current evidence.
The Brazilian Tobacco Industry Association, ABIFUMO, said that banning vapes is “ignoring the learnings of more than 80 countries that have already authorized their sale with clear rules for control, restriction of points of sale and taxation of manufacturers.”
Philip Morris Brasil said that “maintaining the ban on vapes is out of step with the uncontrolled growth of the illicit market, proven to be accessible to around 4 million Brazilians who use a product daily without any control of quality.”
Meanwhile, the Senate is debating a bill that would authorize the production, import, export and consumption of e-cigarettes in Brazil. The proposal is still in its early stages and does not have a date for voting.

April 23, 2024
‘Quit Like Sweden’ Global Effort Takes Off

Photo: QLS
International health experts rallied behind a major new global effort to replicate Sweden’s success at eradicating smoking by embracing a comprehensive approach that could prevent millions of premature deaths globally.
Quit Like Sweden (QLS), launched at a conference in Brazil featuring medical professionals, politicians and policymakers, aims to motivate and support countries worldwide to emulate the example of Sweden, which is set to become the first nation to attain official “smoke-free” status later this year.
“Sweden has achieved this remarkable feat by ensuring that safer alternatives to smoking are accessible, acceptable and affordable,” said QLS founder Suely Castro, a Brazil-born harm reduction advocate in a statement.
“A country where 49 percent of men used to smoke regularly has virtually wiped out this scourge by allowing its smokers to switch to products that pose just a fraction of the risks, such as snus [traditional smokeless tobacco] and other smoke-free alternatives like vapes and nicotine pouches.
“Swedes are reaping the health dividend with significantly lower cancer cases and mortality rates compared to their European counterparts. Now, Quit Like Sweden will amplify this message globally, leveraging expertise and fostering collaboration across stakeholders to help countries replicate the Swedish experience.”

Sweden is winning the war against smoking with a comprehensive approach to tobacco control that supplements traditional cessation and preventive measures with an all-important added element: giving smokers the opportunity to switch to safer alternatives.
Anders Milton, former chair of the World Medical Association and former secretary general of the Swedish Medical Association.
Castro was joined at the launch of her platform by leading harm reduction experts who unveiled new research showing that Brazil could save 1.36 million lives by 2060 by adopting the Swedish approach.
Earlier research has shown that 3 million more Europeans would be alive today if other countries had implemented Sweden’s comprehensive approach to helping smokers quit.
Meanwhile, a study of low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) shows that, through the adoption of Swedish-style policies, Kazakhstan could prevent 165,000 premature deaths in the next four decades while South Africa, Bangladesh and Pakistan could save 320,000; 920,000 and 1,200,000 lives, respectively.
“Sweden is winning the war against smoking with a comprehensive approach to tobacco control that supplements traditional cessation and preventive measures with an all-important added element: giving smokers the opportunity to switch to safer alternatives,” said research co-author Anders Milton, a former chair of the World Medical Association and former secretary general of the Swedish Medical Association.
“It has set out a policy roadmap that should be treated as a gift to global public health and, potentially, one of the greatest ever breakthroughs in tackling noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
“That’s why QLS is so important. By spreading the message of the Swedish experience to all corners, many millions of premature deaths—including almost 1.4 million here in Brazil—could be prevented in the next four decades.”
April 12, 2024
Brazil Urged to Embrace Harm Reduction

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Brazil could prevent almost 1.4 million premature deaths—equivalent to the population of Porto Alegre—by implementing Sweden’s tobacco harm reduction (THR) strategy, according to a new report to be presented in Brasilia by Smoke Free Sweden today.
Currently, Brazil has a smoking rate of 13.4 percent, well above the World Health Organization’s official “smoke-free” threshold of 5 percent. This means almost 16,000 Brazilians die each month from preventable diseases.
Sweden, by contrast, is on track to become officially “smoke-free,” with smoking rates only just above 5 percent.
This translates into the lowest cancer rates in Europe and reduced mortality from smoking. According to the report’s authors, a significant part of this success story is Sweden’s measured approach to reducing the harm associated with smoking through the use of reduced-risk alternative products such as vaping and nicotine pouches.
“Although smoking continues to be the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide, conventional methods in tobacco control have reached a standstill,” said principal author Derek Yach in a statement.
“Policymakers in Brazil need to acknowledge the pivotal role of tobacco harm reduction products, which are already being utilized by 150 million individuals worldwide, in addressing this urgent crisis.”
“Tobacco control alone is not enough when it comes to combating high smoking levels,” said Delon Human, leader of the Smoke Free Sweden movement and a key contributor to the report.
“It must be complemented by a comprehensive set of harm reduction measures. This includes the accessibility, acceptability, and affordability of less harmful alternatives like vaping and nicotine pouches.
“Public health entities in Brazil should seize the opportunity for global replication of Sweden’s successful approach. Together, we can work towards a smoke free world and ensure the well-being of future generations.”
Brazil’s Federal Senate is currently considering a bill on the regulation of electronic cigarettes, which have been banned in the country for more than a decade.
April 10, 2024
ITGA Debates COP at Americas Meeting

Photo: ITGA
Representatives of the leaf tobacco industry discussed global supply and demand, the economic significance of tobacco, and the repercussions of 10^th Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), among other topics, during the International Tobacco Growers Association’s (ITGA) 2024 Americas Regional Meeting on March 18 in Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Participants in the gathering were dismayed by the attitude of the Brazilian government delegation during COP10. Brazil has been the world’s leading tobacco exporter since 1993. In 2023, the country shipped 512,000 tons of tobacco, earning $2.73 billion, according to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade. Yet despite the economic significance of tobacco, Brazil’s COP10 representatives pushed hard for more restrictions on the sector during the Panama meeting.
“I ask the government not to ignore this important production chain, considering that Brazil is an example to the world in terms of good social, environmental and production practices,” said ITGA’s President José Javier Aranda in Santa Cruz do Sul.
Marcílio Drescher, president the Brazilian tobacco growers’ association Afubra, urged tobacco stakeholders to unite in the face of opposition. “There is no such thing as an isolated tobacco sector and the union between producers and companies is very important,” he insisted.
Helena Hermany, mayor of Santa Cruz do Sul, observed that the narrative that reaches government representatives in the capital, Brasilia, is different from reality. “The NGOs totally distort what tobacco means for the growers, the municipalities and the environment,” she said.

ITGA market analysts Ivan Genov described the prevailing tobacco trends in key markets. One of the highlights, he noted, is that Tanzania aims to overtake Zimbabwe to become Africa’s largest producer. He also called attention to a small reduction in cigarette production and the simultaneous increase in demand for next-generation devices, along with the discussions around the disposal of such devices.
Antônio da Luz, chief economist of the Farsul System, highlighted the importance of agriculture. “Fifty years ago, we had 67 percent of people living in the countryside to 33 percent in the city,” he said. “Since 2010, the urban population has outnumbered the rural population and the estimate is that, by 2050, we will have 70 percent of people living in cities and only 30 percent producing food in rural areas.” In such an environment, Da Luz noted, increasing agricultural productivity will be of key importance.
Iro Schünke, the president of the Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco), unveiled the results of a 2023 study on the socioeconomic conditions of tobacco growers in Southern Brazil, carried out by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. The average per capita family income of tobacco farmers in the Southern Region of Brazil is BRL11,755.30 ($2,344.35), compared with average Brazilian per capita income of BRL1,625, contradicting the narrative pushed by NGOs that tobacco leaves growers in poverty.
April 9, 2024
Navigating the Fog
Image: VlaDee/pavlofox
Brazilian lawmakers mull regulation of e-cigarettes.
By Claudio Teixteira
In the face of growing concerns about public health, the expansion of the illicit market, and the persistent inaction of the Health Agency in assuming its regulatory responsibilities, the Federal Senate of Brazil has taken matters into its own hands with a bill for the regulation of electronic cigarettes in the country. This initiative, driven by Senator Soraya Thronicke, seeks to fill a legal loophole that has favored organized crime for over a decade and ensure adequate consumer protection. The bill under discussion in Brazil has the potential to mark a before and after in the vaping policy of the largest market in Latin America. Below, some fundamental aspects of this project are detailed, and the perspectives of experts on the subject are gathered.
Nearly 15 years have passed since the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) banned commercial activities related to electronic cigarettes, and the discussion about this measure remains as relevant as it was at the beginning.
Although the current law does not restrict personal use or possession of vaping devices, the ANVISA’s decision in 2022 to maintain the ban, after an exhaustive review process and public consultation, has generated a polarized debate among the Brazilian population. The consultation conducted last February has revealed considerable interest from consumers and various social sectors in reviewing and softening the current rules, favoring a more open and evidence-based policy.
The ANVISA’s decision not to engage in the regulation of vaping products has spurred a significant legislative reaction from the Federal Senate. This situation highlights a critical moment in Brazil’s public health policy, marking a possible turning point in how the country addresses the regulation of these contemporary and widely debated products.
In this context, Bill No. 5,008 of 2023, promoted by Thronicke, emerges. This legislative initiative is proposed as a direct response to the ANVISA’s inaction and seeks to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for electronic cigarettes and similar devices in Brazil. The project covers many aspects, including production, marketing, importation and exportation as well as the regulation and specific supervision of these consumer products.
Intending to establish precise requirements for their control, this bill represents a comprehensive effort to manage the presence and distribution of vaping devices in the Brazilian market, ensuring proper regulation from their manufacture to their promotion.
Benefiting Organized Crime
The senator has expressed concern that Brazil, unlike 84 percent of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, lacks specific legislation to regulate electronic cigarettes. According to her, this omission leaves consumers vulnerable, facing a proven ineffective ban that does not align with the more advanced legal and regulatory standards adopted globally.
Thronicke emphasizes that the protection of public health must be the priority, with a particular focus on the safety of young people. She proposes implementing strict regulations covering all aspects from production to marketing, promotion and consumption of these products. The senator maintains that adopting such measures is essential to minimize the risks associated with the use of electronic cigarettes and ensure a market supply that is responsible and regulated.
The senator has expressed her deep dissatisfaction with Brazil’s current lack of regulation of electronic cigarettes. In an interview with Poder360, she pointed out how this legislative gap directly benefits organized crime. She highlighted the critical need to be held accountable for this omission and wondered who truly benefits from this legal void.
“I wish those responsible for this omission face the consequences. I need to know who is behind this and who is facilitating organized crime operations. In this legal limbo scenario, the only beneficiaries are, without a doubt, criminal groups,” emphasized the senator, underscoring the importance of addressing and closing this legislative gap to combat the advancement of organized crime in this sector effectively.
The senator’s concern extends to the quality and safety of vaping products in the Brazilian market. Many of these products evade regulations and contain components of unknown composition, posing a significant risk to public health. Furthermore, she criticizes the current prohibitive policies for their inconsistency, banning potential alternatives in favor of products whose dangers are already widely documented.
Thronicke argues that if bans are to be implemented, they should be applied equitably, including traditional tobacco products. “If the decision is made to ban electronic devices, then conventional cigarettes should also face prohibition. It takes courage to do so, especially when nicotine is legal in Brazil, and electronic cigarettes represent just another way of consuming it.”
These statements underline the urgency and complexity of formulating precise and compelling regulations for electronic cigarettes and other reduced-risk products in Brazil, focusing on safeguarding public health and combating illegality.
Her concerns are evident when she points out how the absence of regulation benefits organized crime through the illicit trade of these products. She also highlights the risks of using unregulated devices and liquids whose ingredients are unknown and potentially harmful. “What is currently sold in Brazil evades any regulation. In Brazil, it’s simple to adulterate these products. The substances used for refilling or containing are made up of unknown ingredients, representing a serious health risk,” the senator emphasized.
Knowing the Bill
The bill proposes that companies wishing to manufacture or import electronic cigarettes in Brazil register their products with the ANVISA. This process would include paying a “sanitary surveillance and inspection fee” set at BRL100,000 ($20,000) for each registration application or renewal.
Additionally, registering these products with the Brazilian Federal Revenue service will be required. As part of the process, interested parties must also submit a toxicological evaluation report to the ANVISA that should comprehensively analyze the additives and materials used in the products. This measure seeks to ensure rigorous control over the quality and safety of electronic cigarettes available in the Brazilian market to protect public health and ensure that only safe and regulated products are accessible to consumers.
The National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology and the National Telecommunications Agency will play crucial roles in establishing technical and safety criteria for the proper functioning of vaping devices. These guidelines will include regulations on safety in the charging process and standards for the wireless communication of devices, aiming to ensure that their use is safe and effective.
On the other hand, the bill introduces rigorous regulations for liquids containing nicotine, establishing a maximum volume limit of 22 mL and a maximum nicotine concentration of 35 mg per milliliter.
Additionally, the devices must be designed to prevent inappropriate tampering and ensure that they are inaccessible to children as part of a comprehensive effort to increase the safety of these products and primarily protect minors.
For heated-tobacco products and their respective packaging, the legislative project specifies that each package must contain 20 units, with a nicotine emission that does not exceed 1 mg per tobacco stick.
Product packages must include an informative leaflet covering essential aspects for the consumer, including instructions for use and storage, contraindications, possible adverse effects and warnings directed at at-risk groups.
The products must detail their ingredients, the nicotine concentration, the batch number and production and expiration dates. In addition, they must incorporate warning messages about health risks and the obligation to keep these products away from children and adolescents.
The products must display explicit warnings about several critical aspects of consumer safety and health. Firstly, they must prominently indicate the prohibition of their sale to minors under 18 years of age along with a strong recommendation against their use by nonsmokers. The need to keep the product out of reach of pets will also be emphasized.
Specific contraindications will be detailed to ensure that consumers are fully informed about situations in which the use of the product is not recommended or can be risky. This includes warnings focused on high-risk groups, such as pregnant women, people with diabetes and patients with heart conditions, reinforcing the project’s commitment to public health protection and the promotion of responsible consumption.
The product label must provide detailed information on the possible adverse effects of using the product and warnings about the risks of dependency and toxicity arising from its prolonged use.
The products will include detailed contact information, such as the company’s legal registry and the manufacturer’s or importer’s address, to ensure effective communication with consumers and facilitate the submission of complaints if necessary. According to the senator, this set of requirements promotes high transparency and accountability, encouraging these devices’ safe and informed use.
The packaging of electronic cigarette products must clearly and visibly display on their exterior a series of crucial information for the consumer. This includes a detailed list of ingredients, categorized explicitly and understandably by the type of additives and nicotine concentration. It is also crucial to include the batch identification, the production date and the product’s expiration date.
A prominent warning that the product must remain out of reach of children and adolescents is essential, along with a message about the health risks that must occupy at least 20 percent of the packaging surfaces most visible to the consumer.
Regarding the wording of the products, a specific prohibition will be implemented on using numbers, expressions or graphic elements that evoke flavors associated with desserts, sweets or any other element that may attract children and adolescents.
The ANVISA will determine the substances whose use will be prohibited, thus ensuring thorough control over the components of these products to safeguard public health.
The advertising of electronic cigarettes and related products will be subject to a rigorous ban in all media, including television, radio, billboards, print publications and digital platforms, such as social networks. The only exception allowed will be promoting these products within physical sales points or through e-commerce platforms, provided that strict age control is implemented to prevent minors from accessing them.
Expressly, any direct or indirect reference to youth culture is prohibited, including images of people who may be perceived as under 25 years of age, to deter interest in these products from this age group. These measures aim to reduce the appeal of electronic cigarettes and similar products among young people, safeguarding their health and well-being.
A robust age verification system will be required at the point of sale to confirm that the purchaser is over 18 years old, using biometrics or other equivalents.
Sales points must also comply with regulations prohibiting placing electronic cigarettes near products intended for children, such as candies and toys, thus avoiding any association that may be appealing to minors.
Furthermore, an explicit ban will be imposed on the free distribution of electronic cigarettes by manufacturers, importers or traders for promotional purposes to prevent encouraging consumption among new users, particularly young people.
The regulations surrounding the consumption of harm reduction products will be established in line with the rules applied to traditional cigarettes, including restricting their use in enclosed spaces under existing legislation.
The controversial prohibition of open-system devices is among the critical challenges to implementing and complying with the proposed regulation. These are characterized by a reservoir that can be refilled and generally offers the option to recharge. In contrast, closed systems comprise devices designed typically for single use, which are nonrechargeable and disposable after use.
Such devices, due to their customization capability and low cost, present a significant alternative for those users looking to quit smoking by allowing them to adjust the nicotine concentration according to their specific needs.
However, a critical limitation of the proposed law is that the prohibition significantly restricts the tools available for harm reduction and smoking cessation. This limitation to specific devices poses notable challenges in compliance and effective implementation of the regulation, implying the allocation of resources that could be used more effectively in other tobacco control strategies and in promoting awareness of the associated risks.
‘Chemical Weapons’
The journey of the bill proposed by Thronicke in the Brazilian Senate is anticipated to be full of obstacles. One critic is conservative Senator Eduardo Girao, who has fervently defended the approval of his project, the PL 4.356/2023, which seeks to ratify the prohibitions already imposed by the ANVISA on electronic cigarettes, which he describes as “authentic chemical weapons with a technological varnish.”
Girao argues that e-cigarettes are designed to attract new consumers, thus compensating for the loss of users that the tobacco industry has experienced in Brazil and globally over the last decades. During a plenary session of the Senate on March 11, he warned about the “serious health consequences in the short [term], medium [term] and long term” that an increase in the consumption of these devices could entail, especially among young people. Among these consequences, he mentioned an increase in the incidence of respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Despite this opposition, there are voices like that of Deputy Heitor Schuch suggesting that it’s unlikely any bill will succeed without explicit backing or a prior determination by the health agency.
The scenario underscores the complexity of the legislative and regulatory debate around electronic cigarettes in Brazil, reflecting the divergence of opinions both within the political spectrum and in the academic and medical fields. The situation highlights the need for a deep and balanced analysis that considers both public health and the realities of nicotine consumption in the country. Amid this debate, various voices, including politicians, scientists and civil society representatives, urge Brazil to adopt a coherent and safe regulatory framework for nicotine products.
With 22 million active smokers and about 3 million vapers, the lack of defined regulation and clear inequality in access to less harmful alternatives underline the urgency of establishing effective regulation through legislation. This measure is essential for promoting public health, social equity and economic stimulus. This raises the question of whether this will be the moment Brazil moves toward a more equitable and effective tobacco control policy.
However, as several experts, including Schuch, have highlighted, the likelihood of any bill progressing without the endorsement or a preliminary determination by the health agency seems slim. This scenario highlights the complexities surrounding the formulation and implementation of public policies in tobacco control, emphasizing the importance of a consensus among the stakeholders involved to move toward solutions that adequately address the public health challenges in Brazil.
Finding the Right Balance
For professor Ingrid Dragan Taricano, a prominent toxicologist, regulating electronic cigarettes is at a decisive moment. Taricano identifies several aspects that underline the urgent need to regulate these devices, covering everything from public health and the protection of minors to environmental implications and risk and safety assessments from a toxicological perspective.
Following the essential principle of toxicology, which holds that “every substance is toxic; it is the dose that makes the poison,” Taricano highlights the need to carry out rigorous health-risk assessments to establish safe exposure limits to any substance that comes into contact with humans. This approach emphasizes the importance of addressing concerns about toxic substances in electronic cigarettes and raises a crucial question: What is the safe dose for each component of these products?
Bill PL 5008/2023 incorporates this vision by requiring the submission of toxicological evaluation reports for registering electronic nicotine-delivery devices with the ANVISA. Taricano views this proposal positively, highlighting its relevance within the regulatory framework to ensure a comprehensive evaluation considering the additives used, the manufacturing material and an objective toxicological comparison with traditional cigarettes.
Taricano emphasizes the importance of toxicology as a cornerstone for developing policies and regulations regarding electronic cigarettes. This scientific discipline provides the foundation for establishing quality and safety criteria, restricting certain ingredients and flavors and adopting measures to prevent young people’s access to these products.
In nations where effective regulation has been implemented, specific limits for nicotine concentration have been determined, and proven quality components of e-liquid have been required. This scenario contrasts significantly with deregulated markets, where devices can contain dangerous substances without supervision, as Taricano warns.
She criticizes positions against regulation that focus solely on the presence of harmful elements in electronic devices, overlooking the fundamental toxicological principle that “every substance is toxic, and everything is a matter of dose.” According to Taricano, user safety can only be guaranteed through the appropriate regulation of the quantities and quality of the components.
Taricano highlights the complexity of establishing balanced regulation that protects public health without inhibiting innovation or individual freedom. For her, it’s fundamental that regulatory decisions are supported by a solid scientific base, ensuring that both the risks and benefits of using electronic cigarettes are considered. In this sense, science must be the beacon that guides toward informed and effective regulation, always with consumer well-being as the highest priority.
‘An Obstacle to Quitting’
Alexandro Lucian, a renowned expert in harm reduction associated with smoking and leader of the Directory of Information for Tobacco Harm Reduction, a nongovernmental organization dedicated to improving anti-tobacco policies, highlights the bill’s importance as an essential tool to address current issues of smuggling, tax evasion and the indiscriminate use of products attractive to young people.
Lucian points out that this project seeks to ensure that consumers have access to products that comply with appropriate health regulations and are adequately informed about the risks involved in their use.
However, Lucian emphasizes that the bill requires significant reforms. He criticizes the imposition of an annual registration fee of BRL100,000 and the misclassification of electronic cigarettes as tobacco derivatives, which could hinder the legalization of numerous existing initiatives, thus fostering the illegal market and posing a risk to public health. “This fee will prevent most of the initiatives already existing in the country from becoming legal, fueling illegal trade and bringing incalculable risks to public health,” he says.
He also underscores the need to review the project section that suggests banning open systems, which many users prefer. He argues that restricting legal access to these systems could further stimulate illegal trade. Lucian highlights that these systems, by offering the possibility to adjust the nicotine dose, facilitate the process for traditional cigarette smokers to migrate to electronic ones and, over time, give up the smoking habit.
‘An Obstacle for Small Businesses’
From the consumer’s perspective, Ignacio Leiva, leader of ASOVAPE Chile and coordinator of the “Vaping Is Not Smoking” campaign, is a recognized activist who has significantly contributed to formulating progressive vaping regulations in Chile. Sharing his vision of the situation in Brazil, Leiva considers that Thronicke’s project represents a notable advance for Brazilian legislation, which currently faces unfavorable conditions due to the total ban.
According to him, this situation has fostered the rise of a black market that not only puts consumers’ health at risk due to the lack of control over product quality but also deprives the state of significant tax revenues in addition to benefiting marginal groups that trade in these products.
Leiva expresses concern about the BRL100,000 required for product registration, which he sees as a particularly onerous barrier for small-sized and medium-sized enterprises, possibly favoring large corporations and potentially resulting in a monopoly in the sector.
While he supports advertising restrictions for conventional tobacco, Leiva advocates for greater freedom in promoting harm reduction products. He highlights the need to inform society about less harmful alternatives. He argues that regulation facilitating access to safe and regulated options can motivate a positive change in consumption habits, reducing tobacco use and benefiting public health. Moreover, he defends adopting fair regulatory measures that do not unjustly favor large corporations to the detriment of smaller market players.
Leiva emphasizes the importance of achieving a balance between offering less harmful alternatives to smokers and protecting minors. He positively values the measures included in Thronicke’s proposal to prevent minors from using electronic cigarettes. He applauds the initiative to restrict the sale of these products alongside items aimed at the child and youth audience. This approach reflects, in his opinion, a solid commitment to the protection of young people, ensuring that efforts to minimize the harms associated with tobacco do not increase the use of electronic devices among the most vulnerable population.
Protecting Public Health and Promoting Equity
The voices of politicians, civil society members and scientists urgently highlight the need for a more coherent and safer regulatory framework for managing nicotine products in Brazil. There is widespread agreement on the need to focus policies on protecting public health and combating illegal trade as well as addressing smoking-related complications.
It is also recognized that adopting appropriate regulations in the country would benefit public health and boost the economy through job creation, increased revenues and significant fiscal contributions to the state. This perspective underscores the importance of a balanced approach that combines health objectives with economic incentives to positively impact the population’s well-being and the country’s economic development.
Although Brazil records lower smoking rates compared to other nations, there remains a significant fraction of the adult population, approximately one in eight adults, who continue to smoke. This represents about 22 million people. This data, derived from national statistics on tobacco consumption, highlights the pressing need to implement effective public health policies.
The prohibition of products recognized as harm reduction options in Brazil poses a severe challenge in terms of social justice. A higher incidence of smoking is observed in the lower socioeconomic classes compared to the ability of middle and high classes to access less harmful alternatives, which evidences an apparent disparity in access to healthier options.
This inequality suggests that strategies to promote a healthier lifestyle are predominantly available to those with greater economic capacity, leaving people with fewer resources and limited options to quit or reduce tobacco use. This scenario underscores the need to adopt inclusive measures that allow all layers of society to benefit from safer and more effective alternatives for smoking cessation.
The current prohibition becomes a significant obstacle to implementing public policies aimed at improving access to harm reduction methods in communities most impacted by smoking. In this context, adopting effective regulation emerges as a crucial element, with the potential to make harm reduction strategies accessible to all levels of society, thus helping to mitigate health inequality.
The discussion on regulating less harmful alternatives, such as electronic cigarettes, becomes especially relevant, offering solutions to the adverse consequences of prohibition in Brazil’s social fabric. Furthermore, this debate opens a new avenue in the fight against smoking. Considering social justice issues, it is imperative to promote policies that foster equity and ensure fair access to safer options for all citizens.
Claudio Teixeira is a journalist, director of C3PRESS Agency and editor of The Vaping Today. He lives in Brazil.
April 8, 2024
Tobacco Stakeholders Debate Forestry in Brazil

Photo: Taco Tuinstra
Stakeholders highlighted tobacco industry initiatives to preserve Brazil’s native forests and achieve energy self-sufficiency at the Expoagro Afubra 2024 fair in Rio Pardo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on March 22.
SindiTabaco technical advisor Fernanda Viana Bender presented a number of projects designed to promote forest sustainability in tobacco farming in partnership with the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM).
The program aims to cultivate trees to meet tobacco farmers’ fuel requirements while preserving native forests. At 22 demonstration units in Rio Grande do Sul, the UFSM research team, led by Jorge Antonio de Farias, is testing the management of fast-growing trees.
While the programs provide stakeholders with valuable knowledge, Bender says there is still much to learn. “We need to develop a way of thinking that forest production is a tobacco farmer’s business,” she was quoted as saying on SindiTabaco’s website. “Without wood, there is no tobacco curing. However, beyond the demand by the sector, farmers could also get organized to diversify with forest production, thus earning extra income,” she argued.
Farias identified a number of challenges to achieving those goals. “As the farmers possess small farms, land availability is one of the problems that make it difficult to plant trees, and the same holds true for the transport logistics of the production,” he observed.
“At the same time, we witness a sector extremely concerned with the supply of wood of legal origin while the farmers strongly demand wood. The solution goes through the creation of cooperatives or associations capable of articulating this market, and the tobacco sector could be a protagonist in this process. The forest component should become an integral part, when it comes to establishing a rural property, as an alternative source of income,” said Farias.
March 28, 2024
Short Brazilian Crop Selling Rapidly
More than half of the tobacco produced in southern Brazil had been sold by the middle of March, reports Kohltrade, citing figures released by the growers’ organization Afubra. Driven by a short crop, the average per-kilo price was up nearly 20 percent over that paid during 2022-2024 marketing season.
According to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce, Brazil shipped 512 million kg of tobacco in 2023, generating $2.73 billion in earnings. In the first two months of 2023, the country exported 75.3 million kg valued at $492.7 million.
According to information from Emater-RS, tobacco prices reached values above BRL20 ($4.02) per kilo for dry leaf, reaching up to BRL390 per arroba [11.34 kg] for tobacco classified as BO1 in some regions. However, producers expressed concern about the weight of the leaves, which has been lower than anticipated due to heavy rains during the growing season.
Reduced volumes and high prices are also accelerating leaf sales. Industry representatives expect sales, which normally extend to the end of June, to end in late April this season.
Brazil’s tobacco crop has been heavily impacted by the El Nino weather phenomenon this year. When production started in May 2023, the industry expected to harvest 10 percent more leaf than in the 2022-2023 growing season based on the area planted.
While the climate conditions initially supported the expectations for a larger crop, heavy rains from mid-July to the end of November forced the industry to adjust its figures downward. Instead of a 10 percent increase, market watchers are now predicting 20 percent drop in volume compared with 2023.
Rainy growing seasons tend to result in lower nicotine levels. Because this season’s heavy downpours followed three years of drought, which resulted in record high nicotine levels for Brazilian tobacco, there is now an unprecedented gap in the nicotine levels of the 2023 and 2024 harvests, averaging 0.35 percent to 0.5 percent for grades XC to BM, and up to 0.8 percent for grades B and BT.
But while nicotine levels have declined, the quality of Brazil’s tobacco is up significantly, with great maturity and a very good aroma. According to Kohltrade, Brazil’s tobacco this year has a very good and intense “flavor,” including in XC grade. Leaf position is showing good quality, and what in previous years was predominantly “LO” to “OF” light orange to orange, this year is “O” orange to “F” full orange or deep orange.
Overall, the industry expects a small drop in sugar levels.
With the reduction in volumes, competition has been fierce for Brazil’s 2024 crop. All companies are rushing to buy their volumes and serve their customers, greatly inflating the market and accelerating the process of purchasing tobacco.
March 25, 2024
AOI Brazil Invests in Seed Production

Image: AOI
Alliance One International has opened a seed industrialization unit at its Global Research, Development and Deployment Center in Passo do Sobrado, Brazil.
Alliance One is a major supplier in Brazil’s tobacco seed market, with tobacco grown from the company’s varieties comprising approximately 40 percent of the tobacco produced in the country. According to AOI, the new seed industrialization unit positions the company for global growth as a leader in tobacco crop solutions with the ability to provide customers and farmers with best-in-class genetics.
“Our new unit provides us with greater quality control of our seed products and makes it possible for all activities to be governed by our internal integrated quality management system,” said Helio Moura, vice president of global agronomy at Alliance One, in a statement. “Improved quality control opens doors to sell our seed in new markets at a faster speed, increases customer and farmer satisfaction, and drives efficiencies within our business.”
According to AOI, the new equipment furthers the company’s efforts to combine cutting-edge technology with advanced agricultural practices to produce high-quality seeds for tobacco production. The machinery is designed to handle small seeds such as tobacco, a rare specification in various markets, and perform a range of essential seed processing functions including threshing, grading, upgrading, pelleting, drying and seed finishing. These capabilities help improve seed germination, stimulate healthy, consistent crop development and increase yield—key elements to improving farmer livelihoods and meeting customer volume requirements and specifications.
The unit has an annual processing capacity of nearly 2 metric tons and the ability to pelletize more than 200,000 cans of seed for sale each year. “The company’s global research, development and deployment center plays a fundamental role in promoting quality, productivity and sustainability in tobacco,” said Moura. “Our agronomic input packages are tested at the center before going to the field, positioning our Company to deliver extremely competitive genetics to the farmer.”
Alliance One says its genetics promote higher quality, yield and disease resistance in tobacco crops and are proven to reduce the amount of crop inputs, such as crop protection agents, fertilizer and nutrients necessary for production. This reduction results in a lower cost of production for the farmer while driving forward a more sustainable industry.
“Our strategy has allowed us to develop global solutions and approaches, respecting the culture and speed of each market, aiming to strengthen the future of and bring efficiency to our supply chain,” said Moura.
AOI says it remains committed to the innovation of sustainable agriculture practices and driving advancements in the agriculture sector that will support farmers and customers across the globe.
January 19, 2024