Zimbabwe Eyes Switch to Cannabis as Tobacco Demand Seen Waning

  • Tobacco growers to earn 25% of revenue from cannabis by 2025
  • Switzerland seen as gateway for producers into Europe

Farming cannabis for medical use in Zimbabwe was first legalized in 2019.

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
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Zimbabwe’s tobacco industry is looking to cannabis as a major revenue source with anti-tobacco sentiment expected to dampen demand for one of the country’s biggest exports.

Anticipated demand for cannabis is projected to continue to grow while tobacco output globally may decline 15% by 2030, according to Meanwell Gudu, the chief executive officer of Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board.