Organic Tobacco Market

Negative Attestations on Conventional Tobacco Bode Well for Organic Tobacco Sales

The Organic Tobacco Market is valued at USD 142.2 Mn in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 189.4 Mn,  growing at a CAGR of 4% by 2033.The permission granted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for smoking, as well as non-smoking applications of organic tobacco has been encouraging tobacco farmers, and derived product companies to embrace farming of organic tobacco. On the other side, shifting consumer preferences from conventional tobacco smoking to smoking organic tobacco cigarettes, cigars, or water pipes will remain among the key drivers for organic tobacco market expansion. Another strong factor fuelling healthy market growth is the notably rising inclination of occasional, and heavy regular smokers toward organic tobacco with a pre-established notion that it is not as harmful as the regular one. Moreover, a sizeable number of environmental activities, particularly anti-smoking activists from around the globe, believe that organic tobacco has any lesser environmental impact, and it eventually compels smokers to quit their addition for tobacco smoking. This will also remain an important factor supporting the growth of market.

While there has been a growing trend of quitting conventional tobacco cigarette smoking, demand for organic tobacco has been on the rise. The expanding partying culture, an exploding number of smokers, and an escalating number of hookah parlours, and bars across urban, as well as semi-urban areas are heavily contributing to organic tobacco consumption. Besides flourishing organic farming prospects, innovative product launches by tobacco companies will most likely account for the progress of the global organic tobacco market over the period of forecast.

Demand for Organic Tobacco Higher in Smokeless Segment

Among the product categories available on the market, flue-cured organic tobacco remains significant on the back of its high sugar content, and the limited nicotine composition. Fire-cured tobacco, on the other hand, continues to gain strong traction among both smokers, and tobacco chewers on account of its exceptional flavour. With notably low sugar content, sun-cured tobacco is expected to gain preference, especially among the Mediterranean consumers. While the recent past has been observing a noticeable drop in the number of smokers seeking lesser harmful substitutes, organic tobacco sales in the smoking segment are experiencing limitations. In contrary, demand from the smokeless segment is seen to be on the rise. Growing popularity of mint chew pouches is clearing the way for organic tobacco in smokeless product alternatives.

Organic Tobacco Sales Buoyant across Regions; Developed Countries Remain Frontrunners

The overall thriving scenario of organic trend is upholding the market in North America, led by the US. With both the governments, as well as consumers spending more on organic products in every possible category on the market, sales are expected to remain higher in North America. Organic tobacco farming at home using permaculture, or aquaponic technique has been gaining momentum among the US, and Canadian households recently. Europe is also expected to be a key market through the forecast period, majorly driven by tobacco consumers in the UK, Germany, and France. Organic tobacco will also remain in demand across Asia Pacific as the region witnesses the thriving smokeless trend. The organic trend wave is also expanding rapidly, which is projected to contribute toward the growth of market within the region. Countries like Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and Vietnam are witnessing market growth owing to the popularising trend of roll-your-own cigarette. The Middle Eastern region, on the other hand, will remain buoyant on the back of the ubiquitous hookah, and water pipe smoking culture. Organic tobacco smoking has been in fact coming out as an attractive trend here, creating multiple opportunities in the regional market. The global leader in premium cigars production, the Dominican Republic is currently one of the top organic tobacco exporters in the world, as reported by The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) in 2020.

Environmental, and Health Risks – a Paramount Concern around Tobacco

Poisoning has been a commonly seen effect among tobacco cultivators, harvesters, and other participants like workers due to prolonged exposure to significant volumes of tobacco, nicotine, pesticides, fertilisers, and other related agrochemicals. During the process of tobacco leaf cultivation, exposure to wet tobacco leaves particularly can lead to the green tobacco sickness, even while wearing the best suitable protective equipment. Considering the health, and environmental risks of this serious level, it becomes critically imperative to bring down the impact of overall tobacco industry. Here is when organic tobacco producers are making inroads to the mainstream. Experts however opine that although organic tobacco is a high-value product, it remains a high-risk crop. In the face of growing awareness about these severe impacts of tobacco on human health, and environment, the industry has witnessed a notable downtrend in tobacco consumption worldwide between 200 and 2018. Despite this, production of tobacco prevails at a remarkable pace as a booster to economic growth, especially across most of the low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Is Organic Tobacco Proven to be Less Harmful than its Ordinary Counterpart?

Organic here only implies to the one that is strictly cultivated using non-synthetic, and federally approved fertilisers, and pesticides, which does not prove that it is any less harmful than conventional tobacco. Moreover, the term is still not regulated within the global tobacco industry. The 2017 US Health Information National Trends Survey concluded that the level of harmfulness of consuming organic, and additive-free tobacco is lesser than that of regular tobacco consumption, as expressed by the participating respondents. However, whether or not organic, tobacco plant ultimately contains the same chemicals that are inhaled or consumed. Tobacco consumption, either direct or smoking, remains one of the leading threats to human health, responsible for roughly 8 million premature deaths a year worldwide. While it accounts for the death of up to 50% of its consumers, it also stands behind the mortality of more than a million people who are non-smokers but are regularly exposed to the second-hand tobacco smoke. The bottom line thus is any form of tobacco is equally harmful, and there can be no such thing as safe tobacco.

Key Market Players in Organic Tobacco Landscape

• Universal Corporation
• Alliance One International, Inc.
• Vector Group Ltd. (Liggett Vector Brands)
• British American Tobacco plc
• Philip Morris International Inc.
• Japan Tobacco Inc.
• Imperial Brands PLC
• China National Tobacco Corporation
• Swisher International, Inc.
• ITC Limited
• Eastern Company S.A.E.
• Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S
• Altria Group, Inc.
• Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, Inc.
• Royal Agio Cigars N.V.

Global Organic Tobacco Market Segmentation

Product

• Flue-cured
• Sun-cured
• Fire-cured

Application

• Smokeless
• Smoking

By Region

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East and Africa