SOUTH AFRICA

PRODUCTION OUTLOOK

Types of tobacco leaf grown in 2019 (Source: ITGA): FC Virginia, Dark Air and Sun Cured Virginia

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

PEOPLE INVOLVED IN TOBACCO

Employment numbers of the tobacco leaf value chain in 2018 (Source: ITGA, TISA, Tobacco Reporter and COMESA):  Growers: 318; Agricultural Farm Workers: 10 000; People who depend on tobacco: 35 000; Total number of direct employment: 9 677

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

AREA BY LEAF TYPE

Represents the percentage of area cultivated by tobacco leaf type in the country in 2019 (Source: ITGA)

68%FLUE-CURED VIRGINIA
29%DARK AIR

3%SUN CURED VIRGINIA

KEY INSIGHTS

Key statistics of the tobacco leaf production in the country

5

AREA

Thousand Hectares (2019), Source: FAO

15

PRODUCTION

Thousand Tons (2019), Source: FAO

15.7

AREA/GROWER

Hectares per Grower (2019), Source: ITGA

29

EXPORT VALUE

Million US$ (2020), Source: UN Comtrade

51

PRODUCTION VALUE

Million US$ (2019), Source: ITGA

2,833

YIELD

kg per Hectare (2019), Source: ITGA

10,118

REVENUE/HA

US$ per Hectare (2019), Source: ITGA 

TOBACCO IN SOUTH AFRICA

Brief contextualisation of the importance of Tobacco in South Africa

66%

Gauteng

TOP TOBACCO EXPORTING REGION (% of South Africa tobacco exports)

T

obacco growing in South Africa is not the major endeavor when tobacco is concerned. The country is an important tobacco manufacturer.  In 2017, the country exported over US$ 200 million tobacco related products generating a relevant stream of income. Tobacco products sales in 2016 amounted to US$ 3.2 billion dollars in revenue, which contributed to the Government coffers with close to US$ 900 million. South Africa has been facing a difficult illicit trade problem within the country, with the black-market accounting for close to 22% of the total consumption of cigarettes. However, the country and manufacturers are taking measures to control the illicit trade, thus maximizing state revenue from tobacco products.  The country’s tobacco leaf production is mainly used for its domestic tobacco manufacturing industry.

Sources: UN Comtrade, Tobacco and Nicotine Database, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and ITGA.

EXPORT PARTNERS

This section aims at identifying the most important commercial partners in terms of Value and Quantity (Source: Calculated from data from UN Comtrade)

  • UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 22%

  • GERMANY 21%

  • SWEDEN 15%

  • LESOTHO 13%

  • SPAIN 12%

  • OTHERS 17%

  • UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 27%

  • GERMANY 21%

  • SPAIN 20%

  • SWEDEN 10%

  • NIGERIA 7%

  • OTHERS 15%

                                    VALUE (2017)                                                                                                          QUANTITY (2017)