Tobacco

–A Crop with Deep Roots and Wide Reach

Let us begin with a simple fact: Tobacco was not born in India—it was brought by the Portuguese in 1508, during their trading voyages, and like many colonial imports, it stayed. But over time, India not only adopted tobacco; it became one of its largest producers in the world. So, when we study tobacco geographically, we are tracing the journey of a crop that is foreign in origin but deeply Indian in practice.

🔸 Uses and Economic Significance

Tobacco is mostly associated with smoking—cigarettes, hookahs, bidis, etc.—but it has other lesser-known uses too, like in the manufacture of insecticides. What makes it economically attractive is its high return on investment. For many farmers, especially those with small landholdings, tobacco serves as a cash crop—one that brings in quick and substantial revenue.

🌡️ Conditions for Growth

📍 Climate

Tobacco is a versatile plant, suited to a tropical and sub-tropical climate, which covers a vast part of India. It grows comfortably between 16°C to 35°C, a range that includes most Indian plains and even some lower hills.

However, it is not a fan of extremes:

• Frost is harmful—especially during the early stages of growth.
• At the curing stage (where the leaves are dried to enhance their chemical content and usability), bright, rainless weather is ideal.

Analogy: Just like a good tea needs careful brewing, tobacco needs just the right weather at just the right time for its flavour and chemical quality to develop.

🌱 Soil

Unlike many crops where climate is the most critical factor, in the case of tobacco, soil is the real game-changer.

• It prefers well-drained, friable sandy loams.
• The soil should be rich in mineral salts (for strong root development) but not rich in organic matter, which could interfere with the chemical composition of the leaves.

So, we can say: “Tobacco is choosy about soil but flexible about climate.”

🧑‍🌾 Labour

Like sugarcane, tobacco also demands cheap and abundant labour at every stage—from planting to leaf picking to curing. It’s a labour-intensive crop, making it more suitable for areas with surplus rural workforce.

🔍 Types of Tobacco Grown in India

There are two main species grown in India, and understanding them is essential:

Feature	Nicotiana Tabacum	Nicotiana Rustica
Climate	Tropical (warm)	Relatively cool
Regions	Grown widely	North and Northeast India
Leaf shape	Long, broad leaves	Round, puckered leaves
Quality	Higher quality	Lower quality
Usage	Cigarette, hookah, bidi	Chewing tobacco, snuff
Share	90% of total	10% of total

So, if you think in terms of commercial importance, Nicotiana Tabacum dominates Indian production.

🌾 Tobacco Production

• Gujarat is the top producer (mainly Kheda and Vadodara districts): over 50% produce
• Uttar Pradesh has the highest yield—more than twice the national average.
• Andhra Pradesh has good yield and it comes next to Gujarat in terms of produce.

So, while Gujarat leads in quantity, UP leads in efficiency.

🌍 India’s Position in the World

• India is the 2nd largest tobacco producer in the world, after China. Brazil production is close to India
• Countries like the Indonesia, USA, Pakistan also produce considerable amounts.

Source: (As of April 2025)

But here comes a crucial point:

Only 20% of India’s total tobacco is exported.

Most of India’s tobacco is consumed domestically. Among exports, unmanufactured tobacco is the main item—sent mainly to Russia and the UK. And here’s an interesting fact: 90% of tobacco exports go through Chennai, making it the hub of India’s tobacco trade.

🔚 Conclusion

Tobacco is a crop that thrives under varied climatic conditions but demands specific soils, intensive labour, and careful post-harvest handling. Its high returns make it a favourite among farmers in certain regions, especially where climatic and soil conditions align perfectly.

But from a broader perspective, as public health concerns around tobacco rise globally, the economic sustainability of the crop in the long term may require diversification, value addition, or shifting towards less harmful uses like bio-insecticides