ITGA Americas Meeting Calls for Balanced Regulation as Tobacco Growers Warn of Pressure on Farms and Legal Supply Chains

Special Report

Jun.02

ITGA Americas Meeting Calls for Balanced Regulation as Tobacco Growers Warn of Pressure on Farms and Legal Supply Chains

ITGA said tobacco grower organizations from five Americas countries called for stronger regional cooperation and balanced regulation, warning that restrictive policies could pressure farmers and legal supply chains. The article also provides data on major tobacco-producing countries in the Americas.

Key Points

Regional coordination: ITGA said tobacco grower organizations from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and the United States called for stronger cooperation across the Americas.
Balanced regulation: Grower groups urged governments to pursue evidence-based regulation that considers both public health goals and the livelihoods of tobacco-growing communities.
Supply chain pressure: ITGA and Afubra warned that restrictive policies could increase pressure on legal supply chains while illicit markets operate outside taxation, traceability, labour and environmental rules.
Production-side impact: The meeting highlighted how global tobacco-control debates are increasingly affecting tobacco production, exports, rural employment and farming communities.
Country data: The article also provides socio-economic data on major tobacco-producing countries in the Americas, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and the United States.

2Firsts

June 2, 2026

Tobacco grower organizations from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and the United States have called for stronger regional coordination and more balanced regulation, warning that increasingly restrictive tobacco policies could add pressure on farming communities, exports and legal supply chains.

According to public materials released by the International Tobacco Growers’ Association (ITGA), the call followed the ITGA & Afubra Americas Workshop held on May 22 in Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil. Afubra, or Associação dos Fumicultores do Brasil, is a Brazilian tobacco growers’ association.

The meeting focused on regional cooperation, farmer representation, global regulation, trade issues and the socio-economic role of tobacco production across the Americas.

ITGA describes itself as the only worldwide association representing tobacco growers. Founded in 1984, the organization says its work includes grower representation, information sharing, market monitoring, engagement with policymakers and publicizing the socio-economic importance of tobacco farming.

The meeting came as tobacco regulation continues to expand across global and regional policy forums. While much of the debate around tobacco and nicotine remains focused on consumption, products and public health, grower groups said regulatory decisions are increasingly affecting the production side of the sector, including farm income, exports, labour standards, traceability requirements and rural livelihoods.

A Regional Declaration Focused on Cooperation and Farmer Representation

Participating organizations agreed to sign a formal declaration aimed at strengthening cooperation among tobacco-growing communities in the Americas, according to ITGA’s release.

The declaration focuses on information exchange, coordinated regional action and efforts to respond to what participating organizations described as growing attacks on tobacco production and tobacco-producing communities.

The groups also said they would seek to counter what they described as false accusations against tobacco-growing communities and negative narratives promoted by anti-tobacco NGOs. The declaration calls on governments to pursue balanced and evidence-based regulation that protects public health objectives while also taking account of rural livelihoods.

For grower organizations, the issue is not only how tobacco products are regulated in consumer markets, but whether farming communities are represented in policy discussions that may affect the economic basis of production.

Regulation Is Moving Further Upstream

Among the main issues raised at the meeting was the evolution of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Growers argued that although the treaty was originally designed to address tobacco consumption, its scope has increasingly expanded into measures that directly affect tobacco production and farming communities.

Participants also discussed the forthcoming revision of the European Union Tobacco Products Directive. Although the TPD is a European regulatory process, ITGA and participating organizations said its consequences could extend beyond Europe and affect the long-term sustainability of tobacco-producing regions, including in the Americas.

The meeting agenda also included discussions on WHO FCTC developments, the EU TPD, U.S. FDA regulation, Mercosur trade agreements, cigar markets and country reports from Brazil, the United States, Argentina, the Dominican Republic and Colombia.

Grower groups said regulatory pressure is arriving at a time when producers are already facing higher production costs, labour pressures, trade uncertainty and volatility linked to energy prices and geopolitical instability.

Growers Link Unbalanced Regulation to Illicit Trade and Supply Chain Pressure

A central theme of the meeting was the argument that overly restrictive regulation can create unintended consequences when legal supply chains face higher compliance costs while illicit markets remain outside formal regulatory systems.

“The evidence is increasingly clear. Excessive and unbalanced regulation has not eliminated tobacco consumption globally, but it has created serious unintended consequences across multiple markets — including the expansion of illicit trade, loss of government revenue, increased criminal activity, and growing economic instability in rural producing regions,” said José Aranda, President of the International Tobacco Growers’ Association.

Legal supply chains are subject to taxation, traceability, labour and environmental requirements, while illicit operators remain outside those systems, according to the release.

“In several countries where restrictive policies have accelerated aggressively, illegal markets have expanded dramatically, undermining legal supply chains that comply with taxation, traceability, labour, and environmental standards. Farmers and legitimate businesses are being punished while illicit operators continue to grow outside any regulatory framework,” said Marcílio Drescher, President of Afubra.

ITGA’s release said legal operators are required to meet taxation, traceability, labour, export and environmental standards, while illicit markets operate outside formal regulatory frameworks.

Tobacco’s Economic Footprint Remains Central in Producing Regions

ITGA’s release emphasized the socio-economic role of tobacco in several producing countries across the Americas.

In Argentina, ITGA said tobacco production remains a critical economic pillar in provinces such as Jujuy, Salta and Misiones, where approximately 20,000 tobacco growers depend directly on the sector for their livelihoods. The release said tobacco also supports employment across the agricultural and manufacturing supply chain and contributes fiscal resources to provincial development and social programmes.

In Brazil, tobacco production sustains more than 135,000 tobacco-producing families, particularly in the southern states, according to ITGA. The organization said Brazil remains the world’s largest tobacco exporter, with exports contributing to employment and regional economic stability.

The Dominican Republic was cited as one of the clearest examples of tobacco’s economic impact. ITGA said the country’s tobacco sector generates more than US$1.3 billion annually in exports, represents about 10% of national exports and supports more than 120,000 direct jobs. The country remains a global leader in premium cigar exports.

In the United States, growers emphasized tobacco’s continuing role as a cornerstone crop in farming communities, particularly in states such as North Carolina and Kentucky. Discussions also highlighted the impact of labour costs, trade dynamics and regulatory uncertainty on the long-term sustainability of tobacco farming operations.

Colombia was also cited as a country where tobacco production continues to support rural economic activity in traditional growing regions while retaining technical knowledge and production expertise developed over decades.

ITGA used the country data to argue that tobacco policy has implications beyond consumer markets, including for farmers, employment, exports and rural development.

A Farming Sector Facing the Wider Nicotine Transition

The global tobacco and nicotine sector is changing as smoke-free nicotine products grow, consumer behaviour shifts and governments tighten tobacco-control policies. Most of that debate focuses on products, health risks, consumers and enforcement.

The materials released by ITGA show how grower organizations are seeking a place in that debate.

In many producing regions, tobacco farming remains closely tied to rural employment, seasonal income, export earnings and smallholder livelihoods. Its significance therefore extends beyond the tobacco industry itself, reaching into broader questions of agriculture, trade and poverty reduction.

This also suggests that future tobacco policy debates may need to be considered within a wider economic and social context, including how regulatory changes affect countries, farming communities and legal supply chains that still depend on tobacco production.

2Firsts will continue to follow how global tobacco regulation, nicotine market transition and tobacco-growing communities intersect.

Appendix: Socio-Economic Footprint of Tobacco Production in Selected Americas Countries

The following figures are based on ITGA’s published infographics on tobacco production in the Americas. Some figures differ from those used in ITGA’s press release, likely reflecting different data years or statistical scopes.

Argentina

ITGA’s infographic states that Argentina produces approximately 80 million kg of tobacco and has more than 16,000 tobacco growers. Tobacco leaf exports generate more than US$224 million. Salta and Jujuy, known for FCV Virginia tobacco, and Misiones, known for Burley tobacco, are listed as the country’s principal tobacco-growing regions.

ITGA’s press release separately states that approximately 20,000 tobacco growers in Argentina depend directly on the sector for their livelihoods.