Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Success Is a Policy Achievement. The Opportunity Now Is Execution

EDITORIAL

By Smart Chireru

Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry is one of the country’s clearest demonstrations of what is possible when national vision is matched with consistent, deliberate policy execution.

From the Land Reform Program to the structured oversight of the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), from pricing frameworks to agronomic support systems, the state has quietly but effectively rebuilt a globally competitive sector. Today, Zimbabwe is not merely a tobacco producer; it is a world-class source of premium flue-cured Virginia tobacco, generating over US$1.2 billion in annual foreign currency earnings and sustaining the livelihoods of nearly 1.2 million Zimbabweans, from farming households to auction floors and logistics chains.

This achievement should be acknowledged for what it is: a policy success.

But it is also incomplete.

Agricultural recovery is only the first chapter in the value story. The truly transformative opportunity now lies in converting this production strength into industrial depth moving decisively from exporting raw leaf to exporting value-added tobacco products.

Crucially, the policy foundation for this shift already exists.

Zimbabwe has, over the past few years, quietly assembled the core building blocks of a modern export manufacturing economy:

● Special Economic Zones (SEZs) with competitive fiscal incentives

● Export-oriented manufacturing licenses

● USD-denominated operating and banking frameworks

● Capital protection and investment guarantees

These are not abstract policy ideas. They are the same instruments used by global manufacturing hubs such as Dubai, Vietnam, and Eastern Europe to attract patient capital and anchor high-value industrial activity.

The question before us, therefore, is no longer what policies are needed.

The question is how quickly and effectively we activate the policies already in place.

For tobacco, activation means building SEZ-based, export-only processing and toll-manufacturing platforms. Facilities where Zimbabwean tobacco is not simply baled and shipped, but processed, blended, cut, and manufactured for international brand owners under strict compliance and traceability frameworks.

This toll-manufacturing model is proven globally. It allows international tobacco companies to access premium leaf and skilled processing capacity without taking agricultural risk. For Zimbabwe, it delivers something far more powerful:

● Predictable, USD-denominated processing revenues

● High-value technical, engineering, and managerial jobs

● Skills transfer and industrial learning

● And, critically, the retention of far more value per kilogram of tobacco produced

Processing at origin is not a slogan. It is an economic multiplier.

The capital to unlock this next phase already exists within Zimbabwe. Pension funds, insurers, and institutional investors collectively manage significant pools of long-term capital seeking secure, asset-backed, development-aligned investments. What they require are bankable, well-governed projects with credible sponsors, strong offtake structures, and clear alignment to national priorities.

Export-focused tobacco processing platforms, anchored in SEZs and supported by long-term international contracts, represent exactly this kind of asset class.

Re-industrialization is not the responsibility of the government alone. It is a shared national project.

About the Author
Smart Chireru is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bullion Essence Pvt Ltd, a Zimbabwe-based export manufacturing and investment company focused on value addition, industrialisation, and foreign-currency export growth.

About Bullion Essence
Bullion Essence is developing an export-only, SEZ-based tobacco processing and toll-manufacturing platform designed to process Zimbabwean tobacco into higher-value products for global markets. The company’s model integrates compliant processing, skilled manufacturing, and long-term export contracts to support Zimbabwe’s transition from primary production to industrial value creation.