Brazil

Brazil is the economically strongest country in South America and the second largest tobacco producer and raw tobacco exporter in the world. Tobacco cultivation has a long tradition in Brazil, dating back to colonial times. The tobacco growing areas are mainly in the south.

The majority of the tobacco growing families are contractually bound to the raw tobacco dealers Universal Corporation and Alliance One International and to BAT‘s subsidiary Souza Cruz. They receive seeds, fertilisers and pesticides on credit and undertake to sell the entire harvest to the contracting company. After the harvest, the latter determines the quality and thus the price of the tobacco. This guarantees high profits for the tobacco industry through consistent production at low prices and extremely high quality. However, the cultivation risks are borne by the farmers. They get into a cycle of debt.

Brazil has strict laws to protect non-smokers. As a result, the number of tobacco consumers has fallen sharply. Whereas in 2000 23.3% of all adults still smoked daily, by 2015 the figure had fallen to 15.2%, or about 4.7 million fewer people.