Mozambique’s Assembly of the Republic approved in general terms a new Tobacco Law aligned with the World Health Organization’s WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, aiming to curb consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke. Presenting the bill, Justice Minister Mateus Saíze outlined health harms linked to tobacco use and said the country faces an estimated 11.7 billion meticais ($187 million) in annual direct and indirect losses — about 1.3% of GDP — including 900 million meticais ($14.4 million) in healthcare costs.
Tag: mozambique
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Mozambique Tobacco Exports Rise 16% in 2025 Despite Output Drop
Tobacco export revenues from Mozambique climbed 16% year over year to €224.5 million in 2025, according to data from the Bank of Mozambique, even as national production fell. Output was 72,380 tons, down from 92,343 tons in 2024, while the sector’s production value slipped 4.1% to 7,255 million meticais, reflecting pressure on the country’s key cash crop.
Government reporting attributes part of the strain to the exit of British American Tobacco operations to South Africa, affecting tax revenues. The industry is now concentrated in two firms — Mozambique Leaf Tobacco and Sociedade Agrícola de Tabaco — as Mozambique remains among the world’s largest tobacco cultivation areas, ranking eighth globally according to a World Health Organization report with 91,469 hectares.
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Mozambique’s Tobacco Export Surged 63% in 2024
Mozambique continued its tobacco boom in 2024, with revenues rising by 41% to reach $217.2 million, according to new data from the Bank of Mozambique. This jump reflects a 63% increase in export volume, supported by stable international prices.
Export values for tobacco in Mozambique were $154 million in 2023 and $151 million in 2022. Behind Zimbabwe and Malawi, Mozambique ranks third in Africa and eighth globally in tobacco cultivation area, with nearly 130,000 hectares planted.
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Report Outlines the Mozambique Tobacco Industry
ResearchAndMarkets.com has released a report on the tobacco industry in Mozambique, including information on production, manufacture and retail, key trends and issues, notable players, trade, and regulations. “Tobacco Industry in Mozambique” also provides information on major influencing factors such as the security situation, economic environment health, environmental issues, and illegal trading. The report includes company profiles of three players including British American Tobacco, Mozambique Leaf Tobacco, and Afro Tobacco Company.
For marketing trends, it reports on:
- An increase in tobacco sales revenues
- Growth in tobacco exports
- The concession system provides smallholder farmers with a market to sell their tobacco
- The introduction of seal stamps on tobacco products, to reduce illicit cigarettes
- The potential for increased tobacco production
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Mozambique Leaf Production Plunges
Photo: Taco Tuinstra The value of Mozambique’s tobacco production dropped 71.7 percent to MZN200 million ($3.13 million) year-on-year in the first six months of 2024, according to the Club of Mozambique. The organization did not provide a reason for the decline.
The revenues amounted to 2.7 percent of the target set for the whole year and 1 percent of Mozambique’s industrial output from January to June.
The government expects growers to cultivate 129,321 hectares and 81,223 tons of tobacco this year.
According to a 2023 World Health Organization report, Mozambique had the eighth largest tobacco-growing area in the world and the third largest tobacco-growing area in Africa, after Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Brazil, with a cultivation area of 357,230 hectares, and Mozambique are the only Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries nations mentioned in the WHO report.
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Tobacco Production Rising in Mozambique
Photo: Taco Tuinstra Mozambique produced MZN4.48 million ($70,132) worth of tobacco in 2023, up 23 percent from the previous year, reports The Macao News, citing the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The value increased despite a drop in volume, which was down 15 percent in the 2022–2023 growing season. Mozambique is the eighth-largest tobacco-growing area globally and the third largest in Africa, with 76,850 hectares dedicated to tobacco, following Zimbabwe (112,700 ha) and Malawi (100,982 ha).
According to the World Health Organization, Africa saw an increase of 35.7 percent in tobacco leaf production and an increase of 19.8 percent in area under tobacco cultivation from 2005 to 2020, when both were trending down globally.
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Mozambique Leaf Exports Down
Photo: Taco Tuinstra Mozambique exported tobacco worth $49.4 million in the first nine months of 2023, a quarter less than in the previous year, reports Club Mozambique, citing central bank figures.
According to the Bank of Mozambique, tobacco exports in the first three quarters of 2022 amounted to $66.4 million.
Mozambique has the world’s eighth largest tobacco growing area, according to the World Health Organization. With tobacco cultivated over 91,469 hectares, Mozambique is third largest grower in the African region after Zimbabwe (112,770 hectares) and Malawi (100,962).
Brazil, by comparison, cultivates, 357,230 hectares.