Mozambique: Tobacco exports reach €224.5 million in 2025, up 16% YoY

The value of tobacco exports from Mozambique rose by 16% in 2025, reaching US$258.3 million (€224.5 million), according to data from the country’s central bank. According to a report from the Bank of Mozambique, detailing the country’s foreign trade from January to December, this volume compares with US$217.2 million (€189 million) of tobacco exported in 2024 and US$154.2 million (€134 million) exported in 2023. Tobacco is considered one of Mozambique’s cash crops, with total production projected at 72,380 tonnes in 2025 — down from 92,343 tonnes in 2024 — from a total cultivation area of 71,000 hectares.

In a second government report on the 2025 budget execution, it is noted that the tobacco sector in Mozambique reached 7,255 million meticais (€98.7 million) in production value, down 4.1% from 7,567 million meticais (€103 million) in 2024, and comprising two companies: Mozambique Leaf Tobacco and Sociedade Agrícola de Tabaco. The Mozambican government had previously warned of the impact on tax revenues due to the “reduction in national tobacco production following BAT’s exit to South Africa.” In the 2022–2023 agricultural year, Mozambique had a tobacco cultivation area of 76,850 hectares, producing 65,856 tonnes, representing a 15% decline compared with the previous year. A World Health Organization (WHO) report published in 2023 stated that Mozambique had the eighth-largest tobacco cultivation area in the world.

With an estimated available and cultivated tobacco area of 91,469 hectares, Mozambique was then the third-largest producer in the African region, after Zimbabwe (112,770 hectares) and Malawi (100,962 hectares). Brazil, with the third-largest cultivation area of 357,230 hectares, and Mozambique are the only countries in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) referenced in the WHO report. The document identified the 50 countries with the largest cultivation areas of the plant, once classified as medicinal and now subject to criticism and policy measures against its widespread use.