Tobacco Industry and Exports India

India is the second largest tobacco producer behind China. The country has around 0.45 million hectares of area under tobacco cultivation. About 10% of the total area under tobacco cultivation is in India. Globally, it accounts for 9% of the total tobacco production. The average production for the last 5 years of the country for tobacco crops was around 800 million kg. The country produces various types of tobacco: flue-cured virginia tobacco, country tobacco, burley tobacco, bidi tobacco, rustica tobacco, hookah, cigar rapped, Cheroot, Burley, Oriental, Chewing tobacco, etc.

The tobacco industry of India employs about 36 million people in farming, labour activities, manufacturing, processing and export activities. Compared with other tobacco manufacturing countries, India has low production, farming and export cost, making it a popular industry. Indian manufactured tobacco has an edge over the other tobacco-producing countries in terms of lower levels of heavy metals, Tobacco Specific Nitrosamines (TSNAs) and pesticide residues.

India's major tobacco manufacturing states are Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Telangana and Bihar. Out of these Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh account for around 45%, 20% and 15% of the country's total production respectively. Karnataka accounts for around 8% and the rest of the states account for about 2-3% of the country’s total tobacco production.