HARARE, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe recorded a 53 percent increase in leaf tobacco production to 352.7 million kg this year, setting a record-breaking yield in the history of the country's tobacco industry, according to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB).
The 2025 tobacco marketing season, which opened in March, closed on Thursday with sales surging to 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, the country's tobacco industry regulator said in a statement on Friday, adding that China remains the largest importer.
The TIMB advised growers with remaining tobacco to deliver it to auction floors for a mop-up sale on Aug. 27.
Tobacco is Zimbabwe's largest agricultural export and a major foreign currency earner, cultivated primarily by smallholder farmers.
In 2021, the country launched the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan, seeking to address challenges affecting the sector, including low productivity, limited local funding mechanisms, and minimal value addition. ■
