Skip to content
Markets

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.

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

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
By

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.