TOBACCO PLANTS
Tobacco is the common name for several plant species in the genus Nicotiana, part of the nightshade family (Solanaceae). About 79 species are known, but the main commercial species is Nicotiana tabacum. Nicotiana rustica, which contains higher levels of nicotine, is also cultivated in some regions. [Source: Wikipedia]
Nicotiana species are native to North and South America, Australia, southwestern Africa, and the South Pacific. Like many members of the nightshade family, they contain nicotine, a natural insecticide, but tobacco has much higher concentrations than most related plants. Unlike some other nightshades, tobacco does not contain tropane alkaloids, which can be highly toxic to humans and animals. Although nicotine and other compounds protect the plants from many herbivores, some insects have evolved to feed on tobacco, and a few species, particularly Nicotiana glauca, have become invasive weeds in some areas.
The main commercial types of tobacco include Virginia (brightleaf), Burley, Oriental, fire-cured, cigar tobaccos such as Criollo, and Cavendish, which is a curing and processing method rather than a distinct variety. These types differ in their cultivation, curing methods, flavor, and use in products such as cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff.
Tobacco Cultivation
Tobacco is grown as an annual crop using methods similar to those for many other agricultural plants. Seeds are first germinated in seedbeds, cold frames, or hotbeds, where light promotes germination. In the past, seeds were sown directly on the ground, but young plants were often damaged by flea beetles. By the late 19th century, protective fabric coverings over seedbeds had greatly improved seedling survival. Fertilizers are commonly applied to increase yields and influence leaf quality. [Source: Wikipedia]
When the seedlings reach about 20 centimeters (8 inches) in height, they are transplanted into prepared fields. Traditionally, farmers transplanted the seedlings by hand using planting pegs, often after rainfall. During the late 19th and 20th centuries, mechanical transplanters were introduced to automate planting, watering, and setting the seedlings.
Tobacco is harvested either by cutting the entire plant at the base or by picking individual leaves as they ripen from the bottom of the stalk upward. Before harvesting, the flowering tops are removed, a process known as topping, to encourage leaf growth. After harvest, the leaves or whole plants are hung in curing barns to dry. Today, large commercial farms often use mechanical harvesters, although topping and some leaf picking are still done by hand.
Tobacco Curing
Curing and aging allow tobacco leaves to undergo slow chemical changes that develop their flavor and aroma. During this process, carotenoids break down, starch is converted into sugars, and other compounds are formed that give cured tobacco its characteristic hay-like, floral, tea-like, or fruity aromas. The curing process also produces advanced glycation end products (AGEs), compounds associated with increased risks of atherosclerosis and cancer. The amount of AGEs formed varies with the curing method. [Source: Wikipedia]
Air-cured Tobacco is hung in well-ventilated barns for 4 to 8 weeks. This method produces leaves that are low in sugar and relatively high in nicotine. Air-cured tobacco is commonly used for burley tobacco and many cigar tobaccos.
Fire-cured Tobacco is hung in barns where it is exposed to smoke from slowly burning hardwood fires for periods ranging from 3 days to 10 weeks. Fire-curing produces tobacco that is low in sugar and high in nicotine and is commonly used for pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff.
Flue-cured Tobacco is dried in enclosed barns heated by flues connected to external fireboxes, so the leaves are exposed to heat but not smoke. The curing process takes about one week and produces tobacco that is high in sugar and contains moderate to high levels of nicotine. Flue-cured tobacco is the principal type used in cigarettes.
Sun-Cured Tobacco is dried outdoors in direct sunlight. This method is widely used in Turkey, Greece, and other Mediterranean countries to produce oriental tobacco. Sun-cured tobacco is generally low in both sugar and nicotine and is commonly blended into cigarettes.
Fermented (Sweated) Tobaccos undergo a second stage of processing after curing in which the leaves are fermented under controlled conditions to further develop their flavor. Cavendish tobacco is produced using this process, often with added sugar or flavorings before fermentation.
World’s Top Tobacco Producing Countries
World’s Top Producers of Unmanufactured Tobacco (2020): 1) China: 2134000 tonnes; 2) India: 761335 tonnes; 3) Brazil: 702208 tonnes; 4) Zimbabwe: 203488 tonnes; 5) Indonesia: 199737 tonnes; 6) United States: 176635 tonnes; 7) Mozambique: 158532 tonnes; 8) Pakistan: 132872 tonnes; 9) Argentina: 109333 tonnes; 10) Malawi: 93613 tonnes; 11) Tanzania: 91248 tonnes; 12) Bangladesh: 85852 tonnes; 13) North Korea: 83455 tonnes; 14) Turkey: 76540 tonnes; 15) Thailand: 69167 tonnes; 16) Philippines: 52435 tonnes; 17) Laos: 39875 tonnes; 18) Italy: 37830 tonnes; 19) Uganda: 32131 tonnes; 20) Guatemala: 31156 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org. A tonne (or metric ton) is a metric unit of mass equivalent to 1,000 kilograms (kgs) or 2,204.6 pounds (lbs). A ton is an imperial unit of mass equivalent to 1,016.047 kilograms or 2,240 lbs.]
World’s Top Producers (in terms of value) of Unmanufactured Tobacco (2019): 1) China: Int.$5846651,000 ; 2) India: Int.$1801704,000 ; 3) Brazil: Int.$1724093,000 ; 4) Zimbabwe: Int.$577304,000 ; 5) United States: Int.$475390,000 ; 6) Indonesia: Int.$441773,000 ; 7) Zambia: Int.$344547,000 ; 8) Bangladesh: Int.$288014,000 ; 9) Tanzania: Int.$261151,000 ; 10) Argentina: Int.$238119,000 ; 11) Pakistan: Int.$233720,000 ; 12) Mozambique: Int.$230130,000 ; 13) Malawi: Int.$229473,000 ; 14) North Korea: Int.$203142,000 ; 15) Turkey: Int.$156776,000 ; 16) Thailand: Int.$149565,000 ; 17) Laos: Int.$127002,000 ; 18) Philippines: Int.$114359,000 ; 19) Italy: Int.$93752,000 ; [An international dollar (Int.$) buys a comparable amount of goods in the cited country that a U.S. dollar would buy in the United States.]
Top Tobacco Producing Countries in 2008: (Production, $1000; Production, metric tons): 1) China, 5171973 , 2836725; 2) Brazil, 1551665 , 851058; 3) India, 948074 , 520000; 4) United States of America, 662016 , 363103; 5) Argentina, 309947 , 170000; 6) Indonesia, 309342 , 169668; 7) Malawi, 292149 , 160238; 8) Italy, 200554 , 110000; 9) Pakistan, 196479 , 107765; 10) Turkey, 170294 , 93403; 11) Zimbabwe, 144034 , 79000; 12) Thailand, 127625 , 70000; 13) Mozambique, 117309 , 64342; 14) Democratic People's Republic of Korea, 114862 , 63000; 15) United Republic of Tanzania, 92619 , 50800; 16) Lao People's Democratic Republic, 90851 , 49830; 17) Zambia, 87514 , 48000; 18) Canada, 80221 , 44000; 19) Bulgaria, 76870 , 42162; 20) Poland, 75116 , 41200;
World’s Top Tobacco Exporting Countries
World’s Top Exporters of Unmanufactured Tobacco (2020): 1) Brazil: 485115 tonnes; 2) Belgium: 219956 tonnes; 3) China: 185649 tonnes; 4) Zimbabwe: 177606 tonnes; 5) India: 176700 tonnes; 6) Malawi: 112439 tonnes; 7) United States: 97785 tonnes; 8) Mozambique: 60936 tonnes; 9) Italy: 59254 tonnes; 10) Tanzania: 57161 tonnes; 11) Argentina: 56431 tonnes; 12) Turkey: 48243 tonnes; 13) Germany: 41415 tonnes; 14) Netherlands: 34546 tonnes; 15) Philippines: 32844 tonnes; 16) Greece: 32043 tonnes; 17) Indonesia: 31132 tonnes; 18) Bangladesh: 26240 tonnes; 19) Zambia: 25997 tonnes; 20) Poland: 24574 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]
World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Unmanufactured Tobacco (2020): 1) Brazil: US$1513569,000; 2) Belgium: US$1129489,000; 3) Zimbabwe: US$741384,000; 4) United States: US$694725,000; 5) India: US$512746,000; 6) China: US$455401,000; 7) Malawi: US$410212,000; 8) Italy: US$297490,000; 9) Germany: US$273487,000; 10) Turkey: US$267542,000; 11) Tanzania: US$200987,000; 12) Indonesia: US$196007,000; 13) Greece: US$186005,000; 14) Argentina: US$184808,000; 15) Netherlands: US$177326,000; 16) Mozambique: US$162055,000; 17) France: US$148789,000; 18) Philippines: US$144190,000; 19) North Macedonia: US$136253,000; 20) Bulgaria: US$124915,000
World’s Top Tobacco Importing Countries
World’s Top Importers of Unmanufactured Tobacco (2020): 1) Belgium: 204883 tonnes; 2) Russia: 150787 tonnes; 3) Poland: 143039 tonnes; 4) Germany: 136327 tonnes; 5) Indonesia: 110275 tonnes; 6) United States: 108315 tonnes; 7) United Arab Emirates: 101396 tonnes; 8) Turkey: 93829 tonnes; 9) China: 88362 tonnes; 10) Netherlands: 83464 tonnes; 11) Egypt: 68554 tonnes; 12) South Korea: 52772 tonnes; 13) France: 45896 tonnes; 14) Philippines: 43310 tonnes; 15) Vietnam: 42743 tonnes; 16) Ukraine: 41315 tonnes; 17) Dominican Republic: 36030 tonnes; 18) Paraguay: 32501 tonnes; 19) Italy: 31295 tonnes; 20) Romania: 28126 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]
World’s Top Importers (in value terms) of Unmanufactured Tobacco (2020): 1) Belgium: US$995760,000; 2) China: US$773877,000; 3) Germany: US$734131,000; 4) Poland: US$706244,000; 5) Russia: US$627413,000; 6) Indonesia: US$550412,000; 7) United States: US$464921,000; 8) Turkey: US$431668,000; 9) Dominican Republic: US$359252,000; 10) Netherlands: US$346418,000; 11) Egypt: US$281351,000; 12) United Arab Emirates: US$281295,000; 13) South Korea: US$236083,000; 14) Vietnam: US$228090,000; 15) Ukraine: US$225899,000; 16) Philippines: US$204952,000; 17) Japan: US$188170,000; 18) Romania: US$169478,000; 19) Italy: US$143036,000; 20) Greece: US$118991,000
World’s Top Cigarette Exporting Countries
World’s Top Exporters of Cigarettes (2020): 1) Poland: 192238 tonnes; 2) United Arab Emirates: 184115 tonnes; 3) Indonesia: 89531 tonnes; 4) South Korea: 57716 tonnes; 5) Germany: 56785 tonnes; 6) Turkey: 50823 tonnes; 7) Lithuania: 42677 tonnes; 8) Czechia: 41296 tonnes; 9) Romania: 40934 tonnes; 10) Singapore: 39622 tonnes; 11) Portugal: 29772 tonnes; 12) Philippines: 29677 tonnes; 13) Serbia: 29433 tonnes; 14) Ukraine: 28479 tonnes; 15) Armenia: 22437 tonnes; 16) Netherlands: 21720 tonnes; 17) China: 21632 tonnes; 18) Switzerland: 19768 tonnes; 19) Russia: 18535 tonnes; 20) Greece: 18324 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]
World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Cigarettes (2020): 1) Poland: US$4012817,000; 2) United Arab Emirates: US$3972013,000; 3) Germany: US$1350755,000; 4) Lithuania: US$984299,000; 5) Czechia: US$930629,000; 6) South Korea: US$816423,000; 7) Romania: US$800523,000; 8) Indonesia: US$779948,000; 9) Portugal: US$746727,000; 10) Netherlands: US$741470,000; 11) Singapore: US$607938,000; 12) Hong Kong: US$511748,000; 13) Turkey: US$426095,000; 14) Switzerland: US$401362,000; 15) Ukraine: US$310806,000; 16) Philippines: US$272841,000; 17) China: US$257007,000; 18) Greece: US$255234,000; 19) Armenia: US$239361,000; 20) Serbia: US$210232,000
World’s Top Cigarette Importing Countries
World’s Top Importers of Cigarettes (2020): 1) Germany: 74529 tonnes; 2) Italy: 59004 tonnes; 3) Iraq: 48697 tonnes; 4) Spain: 44900 tonnes; 5) France: 43230 tonnes; 6) Cambodia: 43012 tonnes; 7) Japan: 42548 tonnes; 8) United Arab Emirates: 35120 tonnes; 9) Singapore: 33167 tonnes; 10) Netherlands: 31429 tonnes; 11) United Kingdom: 30960 tonnes; 12) Libya: 29694 tonnes; 13) Syria: 28840 tonnes; 14) Somalia: 28516 tonnes; 15) Belize: 25912 tonnes; 16) Czechia: 24532 tonnes; 17) Saudi Arabia: 23645 tonnes; 18) Afghanistan: 22764 tonnes; 19) Thailand: 21138 tonnes; 20) Iran: 21000 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]
World’s Top Importers (in value terms) of Cigarettes (2020): 1) Japan: US$2003006,000; 2) Italy: US$1864733,000; 3) Germany: US$1491862,000; 4) Spain: US$1203391,000; 5) France: US$1172640,000; 6) Iraq: US$1031307,000; 7) United Arab Emirates: US$738169,000; 8) Somalia: US$645469,000; 9) Netherlands: US$612858,000; 10) Libya: US$573453,000; 11) Syria: US$565757,000; 12) Saudi Arabia: US$545808,000; 13) United Kingdom: US$536552,000; 14) Afghanistan: US$528611,000; 15) Singapore: US$525927,000; 16) Australia: US$463098,000; 17) Hong Kong: US$448225,000; 18) United States: US$407333,000; 19) Iran: US$400000,000; 20) Cambodia: US$391857,000
World’s Top Cigar and Cheroot Exporting Countries
World’s Top Exporters of Cigars and Cheroots (2020): 1) Dominican Republic: 45310 tonnes; 2) Nicaragua: 7688 tonnes; 3) Germany: 6459 tonnes; 4) Indonesia: 4384 tonnes; 5) Belgium: 3674 tonnes; 6) Honduras: 2336 tonnes; 7) Hungary: 1988 tonnes; 8) Netherlands: 1678 tonnes; 9) Spain: 1329 tonnes; 10) Bangladesh: 1000 tonnes; 11) Poland: 975 tonnes; 12) South Korea: 917 tonnes; 13) Cuba: 755 tonnes; 14) Malaysia: 678 tonnes; 15) Montenegro: 581 tonnes; 16) Ukraine: 542 tonnes; 17) Sri Lanka: 380 tonnes; 18) Myanmar: 339 tonnes; 19) United Arab Emirates: 335 tonnes; 20) United States: 288 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]
World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Cigars and Cheroots (2020): 1) Dominican Republic: US$787653,000; 2) Belgium: US$337248,000; 3) Nicaragua: US$262493,000; 4) Germany: US$211773,000; 5) Cuba: US$188543,000; 6) Netherlands: US$177931,000; 7) Honduras: US$106128,000; 8) Spain: US$89306,000; 9) Indonesia: US$84461,000; 10) Hong Kong: US$61839,000; 11) Hungary: US$61128,000; 12) Poland: US$36915,000; 13) United States: US$33429,000; 14) South Korea: US$21663,000; 15) United Arab Emirates: US$18277,000; 16) Italy: US$17132,000; 17) Slovakia: US$12820,000; 18) Morocco: US$12096,000; 19) Ukraine: US$11819,000; 20) Malaysia: US$9747,000
World’s Top Cigar and Cheroot Importing Countries
World’s Top Importers of Cigars and Cheroots (2020): 1) United States: 37326 tonnes; 2) Japan: 4110 tonnes; 3) Netherlands: 3157 tonnes; 4) Germany: 3150 tonnes; 5) Malaysia: 2206 tonnes; 6) Spain: 1888 tonnes; 7) Belgium: 1389 tonnes; 8) France: 1352 tonnes; 9) Italy: 1097 tonnes; 10) Finland: 705 tonnes; 11) Romania: 619 tonnes; 12) United Kingdom: 557 tonnes; 13) United Arab Emirates: 503 tonnes; 14) Portugal: 448 tonnes; 15) Russia: 443 tonnes; 16) Greece: 396 tonnes; 17) Libya: 289 tonnes; 18) Slovakia: 288 tonnes; 19) Switzerland: 270 tonnes; 20) Hong Kong: 248 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org]
World’s Top Importers (in value terms) of Cigars and Cheroots (2020): 1) United States: US$1136556,000; 2) Japan: US$237131,000; 3) France: US$196297,000; 4) Germany: US$174554,000; 5) Netherlands: US$148694,000; 6) Spain: US$136701,000; 7) Belgium: US$89807,000; 8) Hong Kong: US$69962,000; 9) United Kingdom: US$69110,000; 10) Switzerland: US$64471,000; 11) Italy: US$57056,000; 12) Canada: US$31971,000; 13) Serbia: US$25637,000; 14) Finland: US$23393,000; 15) Malaysia: US$22965,000; 16) Greece: US$20729,000; 17) Austria: US$20287,000; 18) Romania: US$19066,000; 19) Portugal: US$18517,000; 20) Australia: US$16412,000
World’s Top Other Tobacco Product Exporting Countries
World’s Top Exporters of Tobacco Products nes (2020): 1) Germany: 79655 tonnes; 2) Netherlands: 70852 tonnes; 3) Poland: 49080 tonnes; 4) United Arab Emirates: 46916 tonnes; 5) France: 38660 tonnes; 6) Russia: 38578 tonnes; 7) Turkey: 32730 tonnes; 8) Belgium: 29593 tonnes; 9) Italy: 29395 tonnes; 10) India: 26964 tonnes; 11) Brazil: 24112 tonnes; 12) Egypt: 20329 tonnes; 13) Ukraine: 16902 tonnes; 14) United States: 14926 tonnes; 15) Serbia: 13604 tonnes; 16) Romania: 11877 tonnes; 17) Greece: 11506 tonnes; 18) China: 10396 tonnes; 19) Malaysia: 9447 tonnes; 20) Czechia: 9174 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org, nes means “Not elsewhere specified or included”]
World’s Top Exporters (in value terms) of Tobacco Products nes (2020): 1) Italy: US$1727046,000; 2) Netherlands: US$1082929,000; 3) Germany: US$957976,000; 4) Romania: US$761978,000; 5) Poland: US$698448,000; 6) Sweden: US$453853,000; 7) Russia: US$316320,000; 8) United Arab Emirates: US$315305,000; 9) Belgium: US$310053,000; 10) India: US$258121,000; 11) Serbia: US$213147,000; 12) Denmark: US$210978,000; 13) Turkey: US$210458,000; 14) Greece: US$185233,000; 15) France: US$172442,000; 16) United States: US$161517,000; 17) South Korea: US$154118,000; 18) Ukraine: US$118647,000; 19) Indonesia: US$90302,000; 20) Egypt: US$89546,000
World’s Top Other Tobacco Product Importing Countries
World’s Top Importers of Tobacco Products nes (2020): 1) Japan: 254673 tonnes; 2) United Arab Emirates: 52738 tonnes; 3) Poland: 38925 tonnes; 4) Germany: 36412 tonnes; 5) Iran: 32228 tonnes; 6) Belgium: 29210 tonnes; 7) Turkey: 25076 tonnes; 8) Ukraine: 18065 tonnes; 9) Algeria: 16972 tonnes; 10) Romania: 16906 tonnes; 11) Iraq: 16657 tonnes; 12) Russia: 16330 tonnes; 13) United Kingdom: 14197 tonnes; 14) Spain: 13443 tonnes; 15) Czechia: 12817 tonnes; 16) France: 12182 tonnes; 17) Indonesia: 11856 tonnes; 18) Netherlands: 11439 tonnes; 19) China: 11403 tonnes; 20) South Korea: 10473 tonnes. [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org, nes means “Not elsewhere specified or included”]
World’s Top Importers (in value terms) of Tobacco Products nes (2020): 1) Japan: US$3013444,000; 2) Germany: US$579998,000; 3) Poland: US$482128,000; 4) Algeria: US$346747,000; 5) France: US$305320,000; 6) Norway: US$303681,000; 7) Spain: US$297313,000; 8) Ukraine: US$290640,000; 9) United Kingdom: US$282818,000; 10) Iran: US$253899,000; 11) United Arab Emirates: US$249465,000; 12) Belgium: US$191551,000; 13) United States: US$158024,000; 14) Russia: US$156089,000; 15) Australia: US$148065,000; 16) Netherlands: US$146150,000; 17) Turkey: US$143699,000; 18) Czechia: US$140343,000; 19) Iraq: US$129691,000; 20) Italy: US$127616,000 [Source: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization (U.N.), fao.org, nes means “Not elsewhere specified or included”]
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Food and Agriculture Organization, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
Last updated July 2026