While tobacco may not be a thing for everyone, we can’t imagine a tobacco-free world. This farm produce offers many popular products and is used in various goods, including snuff, gutka, snus, dipping tobacco, cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco. And don’t forget that every tobacco type has a recreational substance known as nicotine. But who are the top producers of tobacco on the planet? Well, as of 2023, China sits at the apex, followed by the likes of India, the United States, and Brazil.
China
As mentioned before, China is the number one producer, with no country coming close. The yearly production is at least two million tonnes. That accounts for about 33% of the world’s total production. With tobacco consumption known to cause addiction, China’s tobacco production is well regulated by the state to ensure it is not produced in surplus. Here, tobacco is grown mainly for the cigarette market, and the fact that the country is home to the largest tobacco company in the name of CNTC is a testament to this. In fact, China controls about 43% of the world’s cigarette market.
The United States
Despite the progressive reduction in smoking rates, the tobacco industry has been thriving of late, catapulting the country into one of the biggest producers. Unlike in China, where tobacco is grown mainly for cigarettes, in the US tobacco is grown for products like snus, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and cigars, among others.
India
With about half a million hectares of land designated for tobacco farming and close to 50 million workers in the tobacco sector, India is only second to China when it comes to tobacco production. Up to 9% of tobacco products in the global market can be traced to India. Tobacco types grown here include Rustica tobacco, bidi tobacco, and burley tobacco.
