ITGA Crop Monitor: June 2020_nº3
ITGA’s Tobacco Leaf Overview
During the pandemic, food and agricultural workers were deemed essential. Tobacco growers continued to work in the fields. They cannot afford to stay at home. While most of the service economy had halted to a stand, rural workers kept the wheels of the national economies turning. The crops, already in the field, required tending and the program for the rest of the agricultural year needed to continue. Never forgetting the exceptional feature that is the demand for tobacco, despite a stable decrease, the sector is resilient during a turbulent economic environment that puts other sectors much more exposed to risk.
Evolution of the value of the ARS and BRL
Graph 1: Evolution of the Value of ARS and BRL ( Source: Investing.com)
The largest tobacco producers in Latin America, Brazil and Argentina, have in recent times been struggling with economic difficulties. The beginning of the marketing season in this region is characterized by the succession of meetings between tobacco growers’ cooperatives, industry, and national and regional authorities that usually drive a wedge between both sides of the tobacco sector. Tobacco growers feel the erosion of their purchasing power with each passing year. While tobacco companies argue that they cannot afford the increases in the tobacco leaf price.