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Tag: tobacco farmers

  • Zimbabwe Posts Record Tobacco Production, Prices Fall

    Zimbabwe Posts Record Tobacco Production, Prices Fall

    Zimbabwe ended its 2026 tobacco marketing season with a record harvest of more than 357 million kg, surpassing the previous season’s record of 354.8 million kg, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). The average tobacco price, however, fell to $2.49 per kg from about $3.30 a year earlier due to increased global supply, larger carry-over stocks, and weaker international demand.

    The decline in prices renewed calls from the TIMB and growers to diversify into horticulture and other cash crops to reduce exposure to market volatility and climate risks. China remained Zimbabwe’s largest tobacco export market, accounting for 34% of export volumes since the marketing season opened in March.

  • Zimbabwe Tobacco Farmers Deliver More, But See 24% Revenue Drop

    Zimbabwe Tobacco Farmers Deliver More, But See 24% Revenue Drop

    Zimbabwe’s 2026 tobacco marketing season closed with farmers delivering 353.8 million kg of tobacco, a 2% increase from the previous season, driven primarily by contract sales, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB). Despite higher production, industry revenues fell 24% year over year to $882.5 million as the average selling price declined from $3.33/kg to $2.49/kg.

    The season also saw a 46% increase in rejected bales, highlighting quality challenges that TIMB said will be a key focus ahead of the next production cycle as the industry works to improve farmer returns and support Zimbabwe’s long-term goal of expanding the tobacco sector into a $7 billion industry.

  • Philippines Tightening Controls on Growers After 27% Surplus

    Philippines Tightening Controls on Growers After 27% Surplus

    The Philippine National Tobacco Administration (NTA) is tightening production controls for the 2026-2027 planting season following a tobacco leaf surplus in the previous crop year. Citing a volatile global buyers’ market, NTA Administrator Belinda Sanchez said the agency will emphasize contract growing, premium leaf quality, and production aligned with market demand to protect growers from oversupply and rejected crops.

    The NTA is encouraging the country’s approximately 35,000 uncontracted tobacco farmers to join its Tobacco Contract Growing System, after reporting that flue-cured Virginia tobacco production exceeded purchase commitments by about 27% (5 million kg) last season. The agency is also promoting soil-area matching requirements to improve leaf quality and better meet buyer specifications.

  • Pakistan Warns Companies Against Delaying Tobacco Purchase

    Pakistan Warns Companies Against Delaying Tobacco Purchase

    The Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) warned tobacco companies and dealers to immediately begin purchasing flue-cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco or face enforcement action under the PTB Ordinance of 1968. In a notice to the industry, the board said companies had failed to open buying centers within the July 8-11 procurement window established under the Marketing Control Rules, 2016, putting them in violation of the regulations.

    PTB directed companies to begin purchases and submit compliance reports within three days. The warning follows last year’s delayed buying season, when some manufacturers and dealers waited until tobacco was declared surplus before purchasing at lower prices, a practice growers say resulted in significant financial losses.

  • Alliance One’s New Seeds Transforming Tanzanian Yields

    Alliance One’s New Seeds Transforming Tanzanian Yields

    Tobacco farmers in Tanzania’s Tabora Region are reporting higher yields and improved incomes following the introduction of proprietary Alliance One Varieties (AOV) tobacco seeds by Alliance One Tobacco Tanzania Limited. Farmers said the new varieties, including AOV 212, AOV 405, and AOV 815, produce higher-quality leaf, offer greater resistance to disease and drought, and significantly outperform traditional seed varieties. According to growers, yields have increased from about 1,350 kg per hectare with conventional seeds to 3,000–3,500 kg per hectare with the new varieties.

    Alliance One said the seeds were developed through extensive research, with field trials conducted in collaboration with the Tanzania Tobacco Research Institute (TORITA), producing yields of more than 3,200 kg per hectare. Industry stakeholders said the improved seed varieties could strengthen Tanzania’s tobacco sector by boosting farm productivity, improving export-quality leaf, increasing grower incomes, and supporting higher agricultural export revenues. 

  • Pakistani Growers Protest ‘Violation’ of Tobacco Purchase Agreement

    Pakistani Growers Protest ‘Violation’ of Tobacco Purchase Agreement

    Tobacco growers in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province accused the local management of a multinational tobacco company of failing to honor procurement agreements by refusing to purchase leaf that farmers say meets agreed quality standards. Protesting outside the Pakistan Tobacco Company’s depot in Charsadda, growers claimed the alleged refusal has left hundreds of farming families facing financial hardship during the marketing season and warned that continued purchasing delays could discourage future tobacco cultivation.

    Farmer representatives are calling on provincial and federal authorities to intervene, investigate the dispute, and ensure procurement contracts are honored, while threatening to escalate demonstrations if the company does not resume purchases.

  • Pakistani Tobacco Farmers Question Excessive Taxes

    Pakistani Tobacco Farmers Question Excessive Taxes

    Pakistan’s tobacco industry is raising concerns over the sector’s growing tax burden and the use of development funds collected from tobacco producers, arguing that multiple levies are increasing costs without delivering promised benefits to farming communities. Industry officials highlighted three major taxes — the Federal Excise Duty (FED), Federal Tobacco Cess (FTC), and Tobacco Development Cess (TDC) — noting that the advance FED on green leaf tobacco currently stands at Rs390 ($1.40) per kg, while the TDC in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has risen from Rs6 per kilogram in 2023 to Rs27.5 ($0.02 to $0.10) per kg.

    Although the TDC is legally earmarked for infrastructure, agricultural development, and farmer welfare in tobacco-growing districts, industry representatives say an estimated Rs6 billion ($18 million) collected over the past two years has produced little visible improvement, prompting calls for greater transparency and accountability in how the funds are allocated and spent.

  • Zambia Tobacco Sales Near $105M Through 11 Weeks

    Zambia Tobacco Sales Near $105M Through 11 Weeks

    Zambia’s tobacco industry generated more than $104.9 million in cumulative sales through Week 11 of the 2026 marketing season, according to the Tobacco Board of Zambia. Farmers sold 51.96 million kg of tobacco during the period, led by 44.45 million kg of flue-cured Virginia tobacco, which generated $87.34 million at an average price of $1.97 per kg. Air-cured Burley tobacco sales totaled 7.51 million kg, earning $17.63 million at a higher average price of $2.35 per kg.

  • Pakistani Growers Reject Move to Scrap Price Mechanism

    Pakistani Growers Reject Move to Scrap Price Mechanism

    Tobacco growers in Pakistan have urged the federal Ministry of National Food Security to consult farmers before abolishing the weighted average price (WAP) mechanism used to determine the minimum indicative price (MIP) for tobacco. Speaking at a press conference in Swabi, growers and industry representatives argued that the government had presented misleading figures to the federal cabinet, overstating farmers’ profits to justify proposed amendments to the Tobacco Marketing Rules, 2016, and Martial Law Order 487.

    Former Pakistan Tobacco Board director Muhammad Ayaz Khan said rising production costs, lower yields caused by adverse weather, and reduced purchases by tobacco companies meant growers earned only marginal profits during the 2024-25 season. Farmer representatives also said many growers remain burdened with debt after companies declined to purchase lower-grade tobacco and called on the government to conduct an independent survey before making changes to the pricing system.

  • Philippine NTA Helping Tobacco Farmers Diversify

    Philippine NTA Helping Tobacco Farmers Diversify

    The Philippines’ National Tobacco Administration (NTA) is expanding efforts to diversify income sources for tobacco-growing communities through livelihood and entrepreneurship training programs. NTA-Isabela, in partnership with the Isabela School of Arts and Trades-TESDA, conducted food-processing training for 30 tobacco farmers and family members in Ilagan City, teaching participants how to produce value-added products such as kimchi and pichi-pichi.

    The training was carried out under the Farmers Organization and Development Program (FODP) and forms part of the government’s broader rural development agenda aimed at improving household incomes and reducing reliance on a single crop. NTA officials said the initiative is designed to help farmers develop alternative income streams, encourage small-scale enterprise creation, and strengthen economic resilience amid changing agricultural and market conditions.