Online Reporter
Edgar Vhera-Agriculture Specialist Writer
ZIMBABWE has the potential to manufacture 17 billion cigarette sticks, the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board(TIMB) has revealed.
Value addition of tobacco is at 10 percent with the country currently manufacturing 4 billion sticks of cigarettes.
Government crafted the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan (TVCTP) in August 2021 to achieve a US$5 billion industry by 2025 through increasing tobacco value addition and beneficiation from two to 30 percent.
A recent post on X by the TIMB revealed that in 2024, value addition in the tobacco industry rose to 10 percent and the country had the potential to do more.
“Now that we have reached and exceeded 300 million kgs of tobacco sold in 2025, it’s time to scale up local cigarette manufacturing. Zimbabwe has the capacity to produce 17 billion cigarette sticks annually, yet it is only producing four billion currently,” said TIMB.
“That’s a massive opportunity, let’s increase capacity utilisation, attract new manufacturers and ensure more jobs, more exports and more local wealth creation. We call on interested entrepreneurs to invest in Zimbabwe’s tobacco value chain through partaking in cigarettes manufacture for export, processing and packing machinery, tobacco packaging materials, Shisha and cut tobacco,” added TIMB.
Meanwhile, tobacco growers have sold 338, 9 million kilogrammes of tobacco worth US$1 132 202 949 at an average price of US$3. 34 per kilogramme.
There are more than 140 000 registered growers with 95 percent of them under contract farming.
