Zimbabwe now ranks as one of the most highly concentrated
tobacco-dependent economies globally, a cabinet minister said on Tuesday.
Addressing a post-cabinet media briefing in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Zhemu Soda said tobacco accounts for approximately 10 to 15 percent of Zimbabwe’s agricultural GDP, a percentage significantly larger than in other top global producers like Brazil.
Between 2025 and 2026, Zimbabwe’s tobacco exports surged by 62.3 percent in volume and 67.5 percent in value, with China remaining the primary destination by accounting for roughly 60 percent of total exports, Zhemu noted.
Tobacco is a crucial agricultural export earner for the country, which produced 354.8 million kilograms of the “golden leaf” worth 1.2 billion U.S. dollars during the 2024/2025 production and marketing season.
Under the newly implemented Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan for 2026-2030, Zimbabwe aims to increase its annual output to 500 million kg and build a 7-billion-dollar tobacco industry by 2030 through enhanced productivity, local value retention, and export market diversification.
