Story by Owen Mandovha
VALUE addition of tobacco has once again come under scrutiny following the opening of auction floors this Wednesday and contract floors this Thursday.
For years, Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry has been under the spotlight owing to the lack of an efficient beneficiation value chain.
Global statistics show that the world’s tobacco industry is valued at US$1 trillion, and Zimbabwe earns around US$1 billion annually despite having the potential of earning up to US$60 billion if it value adds all the golden leaf produced locally.
Officially opening the 2025 tobacco marketing season in Harare on Wednesday, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Dr Anxious Masuka alluded to the need to revisit the country’s value addition matrix.
“As the season opens, we need to accelerate the issue of value addition so that we can maximise our earnings by processing the tobacco instead of exporting it as raw so that we claim our true value from the industry. This way we will achieve the much-needed transformation of the industry,” he said.
Last year, two tobacco processing plants were established in Harare and are already overwhelmed by demand for Zimbabwe’s cigarettes on the African continent.
“We have received a lot of inquiries since we came on board last year from countries like DRC and even in the North of Africa. We have a processing plant that is capable of supplying the entire continent,” Swan Valley Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Mutemwa Ushewokunze said.
According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), value addition is key in efforts to attain US$5 billion industry by the end of this year.
