Zimbabwe will officially open its 2025/2026 tobacco marketing season on March 4, 2026, with the start of auction sales, as authorities seek to build on record production and strong export earnings from the crop, the industry regulator said.
The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) said contract tobacco sales will begin a day later, on March 5, following approval from the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
In a statement posted on its X account, TIMB said the opening dates had been approved by the responsible minister, Dr Anxious Jongwe Masuka, and would be marked by a brief official ceremony to signal the start of the new marketing season.
“Stakeholders are invited to take note of these dates and prepare accordingly,” TIMB chief executive Emmanuel Matsvaire was quoted by state-owned newspaper The Herald as saying.
Zimbabwe is Africa’s largest tobacco producer and the world’s third-largest exporter of the leaf after Brazil and India. Tobacco remains one of the country’s most important foreign currency earners, alongside gold and platinum group metals, playing a critical role in supporting the balance of payments.
Authorities have set ambitious growth targets for the sector, which underpins livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers and supports downstream activities such as processing, logistics and export services.
For the 2025/2026 season, initial projections point to a harvest of about 360,000 tonnes of tobacco leaf. If realised, this would exceed the previous record of 354,881 tonnes achieved during the 2024/2025 marketing season, according to official data.
While the estimate has not yet been formally confirmed, early indicators suggest strong production potential. TIMB figures published in January showed that farmers increased the area under tobacco cultivation to 162,625 hectares, up 42 percent from 114,301 hectares in the previous season.
Seed sales also rose by 11 percent at the start of the growing season, signalling increased farmer participation and supporting expectations of higher output. Industry officials say favourable rainfall in key growing regions has further boosted prospects, although final yields will depend on weather conditions toward the end of the season.
Tobacco production in Zimbabwe is dominated by smallholder farmers, many of whom operate under contract farming arrangements that provide access to inputs, financing and technical support in exchange for selling their crop to contracted buyers.
Contract sales have grown steadily in recent years and now account for the bulk of marketed tobacco, while auction floors continue to play a key role in price discovery and providing an alternative route to market.
Higher output in the 2025/2026 season is expected to strengthen export performance. TIMB reported that tobacco sales generated nearly $1.2 billion in export revenue during the 2024/2025 campaign, underscoring the crop’s importance to the economy at a time of ongoing currency and liquidity pressures.
Most tobacco is produced in the provinces of Mashonaland West, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East and Manicaland, which together account for the bulk of national output. These regions benefit from suitable soils, established farming systems and access to curing and marketing infrastructure.
Despite its economic significance, the tobacco sector faces challenges, including rising production costs, climate-related risks and growing global pressure against tobacco consumption. Authorities have said they are working to improve efficiency, promote sustainable farming practices and maximise value addition through local processing.
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The start of the marketing season will be closely watched by farmers, buyers and policymakers alike, as prices, volumes and export receipts from tobacco remain a key barometer of Zimbabwe’s agricultural performance and foreign currency inflows for the year ahead.
