Tanzania Ranked 2nd largest Producer of Tobacco in Africa

Tanzania has been mentioned as the second-largest producer of tobacco in Africa for the year 2022/2023, Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe has said.

Mr Bashe made the statement on his X account (formerly Twitter), adding that the country’s production of the crop has increased from 50,000 tonnes to 122,858 tonnes in 2023/2024.

Furthermore, he said that as of December last year, the export value of tobacco was $316 million, towards the goal of reaching $400 million. Mr Bashe noted that for the 2024/2025 season, they are optimistic to reach 200,000 tonnes against the target is 300,000 by 2025/26.

He applauded the farmer associations as well as the tobacco companies in the country, stating that for the first time more than 50 percent of tobacco has been bought and sold abroad 100 percent by local companies.

“It was not an easy journey. I thank all the tobacco board staff; we dreamed, we did it, keep pushing. We will become Africa’s number one producer,” the minister said.

According to the minister these are largest tobacco producer in Africa
🇿🇼Zimbabwe 296,000 tonnes,
🇹🇿 Tanzania 122, 858 tonnes
🇲🇼 Malawi 121,000 tonnes
🇲🇿 Mozambique 65,800 tonnes
🇿🇲 Zambia 44,000 tonnes
🇺🇬 Uganda 13, 000 tonnes

The tobacco industry has promoted tobacco production to the governments of African producing countries, highlighting the economic importance of the tax revenue and cash income for farmers, contributing to economic development.Tobacco has often offered a higher net income than other cash crops, making it attractive to farmers. That said, heavy tobacco production can contribute to food insecurity in some countries.

In 2018, the global tobacco leqf production  was 6.3 million  tons  and in Africa , it was 722,187 tons representing  11.4% of global production .