The Bank of Mozambique (BoM) reported that the value of tobacco exports grew by 16% in 2025, reaching $258.3 million. According to a report, the figures stood at $217.2 million in 2024 and $154.2 million in 2023.
“Tobacco is considered one of Mozambique’s main cash crops, with an expected total production of 72,300 tons in 2025—compared to 92,300 tons in 2024—resulting from a total cultivated area of 71,000 hectares,” the central bank’s report stated.
In 2025, the government acknowledged impacts on tax revenues, citing the “decline in national tobacco production following the exit of British American Tobacco, one of the largest multinational companies in the tobacco sector, to South Africa.”
In the 2022–23 agricultural season, Mozambique had 76,900 hectares under tobacco cultivation and produced 65,900 tons, representing a 15% drop compared to the previous period.
For the 2023–24 season, the government projected an expansion to 129,300 hectares and production of 81,200 tons, signaling a push to strengthen the crop.
A World Health Organization (WHO) report published in 2023 ranked Mozambique as the eighth-largest country in the world in terms of tobacco cultivation area, with 91,500 hectares. In the African context, the country ranked third, behind Zimbabwe (112,800 hectares) and Malawi (100,900 hectares).
Among the countries of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), only Brazil and Mozambique are listed among the world’s top 50 producers.
