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Tag: Iranian Tobacco Co.

  • Iranian Tobacco Co. to Build in Zimbabwe

    Iranian Tobacco Co. to Build in Zimbabwe

    Photo: www.akolosov.art

    The Iranian Tobacco Co. (ITC) will build a cigarette factory in Zimbabwe, reports Press TV.

    According to local media reports, ITC CEO Mohammad Sheikhan and Zimbabwe’s agriculture minister, Anxious Jongwe Masuka, signed an agreement in Harare on Jan. 26.

    The facility will manufacture ITC’s Bahman brand using Zimbabwean leaf tobacco. As part of the agreement, Zimbabwe will also supply tobacco for cigarette manufacturing in Iran or for re-exports to Central Asia.

    Other Iranian-made cigarette brands will be exported to Zimbabwe under the deal.

    Iran’s tobacco sector has grown in recent years amid lower imports of international brands and increasing demand for local products.

    The boom has enabled the ITC to revive idle plants and to start exporting to several countries in West and Central Asia.

    The company’s planned cigarette factory dovetails with Zimbabwe’s ambition to move up the tobacco value chain. While the country exports hundreds of millions of kg of leaf each year, most of the value is captured by the buyers who process the tobacco into consumer products.

    The country aims to generate US$5 billion from tobacco by 2025, up from US$1 billion today.

  • Iranian Tobacco Mulls Investment in Zimbabwe

    Iranian Tobacco Mulls Investment in Zimbabwe

    Photo: Taco Tuinstra

    The Iranian Tobacco Co. wants to invest in Zimbabwe to reduce the cost associated with buying tobacco through middlemen, reports The Sunday Mail. Among the areas the Iranians are targeting are irrigation, curing and mechanization. They also want to contract with farmers and set up factories in Zimbabwe. 

    The investments were discussed during a visit to Tehran by a delegation led by Zimbabwe First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa.

    “We get our needs through agents, and prices go higher for us and also causing Zimbabwean farmers to have little profit,” said Iran’s vice president of commerce and economy, Hamid Gharesheikh, during the meeting.

    “We want to get companies to work with directly in Zimbabwe and do away with middlemen. We are under sanctions, and it’s difficult for us to import from other Western countries, but with Zimbabwe, we have a better understanding and for that, our cooperation will be helpful to both of us. We can also supply you with equipment such as tractors and implements for production. We can also supply dryers for curing and processing,” he said. 

    The proposed cooperation dovetails with Mnangagwa’s passion to economically empower Zimbabwe’s citizenry, especially women and youths, in the effort to attain upper middle-income status for the country by 2030. 

    During the meeting, Gharesheikh said Iran would prioritize women in its investments.