EXPORT earnings from tobacco products have increased from US$836,53 million in 2021 to US$998,06 million in 2022 marking a 19 percent rise.
Statistics availed by ZimStats show that for the period January to December 2022 export earnings from tobacco products were US$998 056 753 compared to US$836 531 166 over the comparable period in 2021.
The product is exported from Zimbabwe as partly or whole stemmed/stripped tobacco or not stemmed/stripped. It is also exported as refuse, smoking tobacco, manufactured tobacco as well as cigars, cheroots and cigarillos containing tobacco.
Cigars, cheroots and cigarillos containing tobacco had the highest figure of US$81,29 per kilogramme followed by tobacco which was partly or wholly stemmed/stripped at US$5,88.
Cigarettes containing tobacco came third at US$4,53 per kilogramme while manufactured tobacco, extracts and essence were fourth at US$3,84.
The Government and tobacco stakeholders in August 2021 came up with the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan (TVCTP), as the country moves to achieve a US$5 billion industry by 2025, chiefly from increasing tobacco value addition and beneficiation from the current two to 30 percent.
The low prices received for processed products of cigarettes or manufactured tobacco compared to raw tobacco, may be a result of poor quality crop being used in the manufacturing of the products.
Obviously, under TVCTP value addition has to result in the production of a highly valued finished product as compared to raw leaf, hence the only products that the country should aim to produce are cigars, cheroots and cigarillos containing tobacco, which earned the country the highest price of US$81,29 per kilogramme.
If the country had increased value addition and beneficiation last year and converted 30 percent of the product currently exported as tobacco stemmed or stripped into cigars, cheroots and cigarillos containing tobacco, the economy would have been US$4, 5 billion richer from the export of differently constituted tobacco product range.
A case where 30 percent of tobacco stemmed/stripped is converted to cigars, cheroots and cigarillos containing tobacco
The country’s export of tobacco products has been on an upward trend with the country earning US$ 795 million in 2020, followed by US$837 million in 2021 and lastly US$998 million last year.
Tobacco exports 2021-2022: ZimStats
This 2022/23 tobacco marketing season is expected to surpass last year’s production figure of 212, 7 million kilogrammes with different players giving estimates of figures above 230 million kilogrammes. – The Herald
