Tanzania’s output of tobacco, a key export from the East African country, could drop as much as 20% this year because of unfavorable weather.
Production may decline to between 57 million kilograms and 63 million kilograms in the May-to-August marketing season, the Tanzania Tobacco Board acting Director General Stanley Mnozya said. That compares to output of 71 million kilograms last year.
Unusually heavy rainfall “washed away the fertilizer from tobacco fields and resulted in the leaves being lightweight,” Mnozya said.
Tanzania tobacco shipments increased to $222.6 million in 2018 from $195.8 million a year earlier, making it the nation’s top cash crop after cashew nuts.
