Extremadura has just started the campaign for one of the crops in which it stands out not only nationally but also internationally. European scale: tobacco. In recent days, the seedlings have begun to leave the nurseries towards the regions where around 98% of all ‘tobacco made in Spain’ production is concentrated.
The news is interesting not only because of what it means for regions such as Campo Arañielo, La Vera, Alagón, Talayuela or Navalmoral de la Mata, where tobacco farmers work. This year the sector is grabbing attention also due to the context, marked by two apparently contradictory factors: uncertainty and the increase in both cultivated hectares and contracted merchandise.
Is it going to be cultivated more? That’s how it is. Coinciding with the start of the Extremaduran campaign, the National Federation of Tobacco Growers confirmed A few days ago, the Efe Agro agency reported that 6,496 hectares will be planted this year, almost 7% more than last year. The figure is still very far from the cultivated area at the beginning of the last decade, when in Spain the 10,000 hectaresbut maintains the growth trend of recent years. In fact, it exceeds the data from 2022, 2023 and 2024 registered by the Government. While waiting for the final balance of 2025, last year the sector spoke of an area of 6,400 ha throughout the country.
The cultivated land is not the only thing that increases. There are signs that also indicate an increase in the amount of tobacco reserved by operators in the sector. The Interprofessional Tobacco Organization of Spain (Oitab) has increased its hiring in Extremadura to 23.69 million kilos, about 723,600 kilos more than in 2025. The public firm Cetarsa will also buy 5% more than last season, which is equivalent to 16.65 million kilos. Additionally, Deltafina will buy 3.62 million and Mella 3.41.
Is this good news for the sector? The director of Oitab defends that the increase is “very positive” and recalls that the sector has been growing for five years. However, it is not all good news for Extremaduran farmers, who this campaign will be forced to deal with a scenario marked by uncertainty. The hangover from the Iran war will force them to deal with the rising fuel price and of fertilizersbut above all they are focused on something else: the yield of the harvest.
As they explain farmers to The Newspapercultivating more hectares does not necessarily mean that you will earn more money. In fact, 7% more planted area does not guarantee that they will harvest 7% more tobacco. In March Asaja I already warned of the consequences that restrictions on certain phytosanitary products will have. Specifically, the organism critical two measures: the veto of Dichloroprene 1.3 and the restrictions on Metam Sodium.
Is it that important? Dionisio Sánchez, manager of the Agrarian Transformation Society (SAT) Asociación Agrupación TAB, the largest producer cooperative, he complained recently in The Newspaper that the sector does not have the same resources as other years to treat the fields, and warned of the consequences of these restrictions: “We do not have means of production.”
“Yields are going to decrease, many farmers have put in more hectares to see if they can get the same kilos,” insisted. Added to this factor is another that also explains the increase in cultivated area: the gradual loss of attractiveness of corn has led some farmers to abandon the cereal and switch to tobacco.
The group is also not entirely satisfied with the prices of the companies that work with their crops. For example, although Cetarsa will slightly increase the money it pays for each kilo of tobacco, there are those in the sector who believe that it is not enough. Especially since the calculations were made before the war in Iran affected the prices of two key inputs for farmers (both those dedicated to tobacco in Extremadura and the rest): diesel fuel and fertilizer. This change of scenery is probably kept in mind. in junewhen the contracted volumes are reviewed.
Is it just agriculture? No. As the sector frequently insists, the tobacco industry has an economic and social dimension that goes beyond the cultivated plots. Fernando Vaquero, director of Oitab, remembers for example that in Extremadura alone there are around 20,000 families that depend on the crop. Last year AFI and the Tobacco Table published a study that estimates that the sector generates 69 million of euros of added value in Extremadura and support some 1,050 direct jobs.
How does it affect the population? If the data were not important in itself, there is another factor to take into account: a good part of this economic pulse beats in rural areas, which demonstrates for the sector its value when establishing “productive fabric and local employment.” If the focus is expanded and goes beyond agriculture, AFI calculates that tobacco will leave Extremadura 126 million.
To this impact we should add the one it leaves in Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha or Extremadura (where there are also plantations) and the Canary Islands, Cantabria and Madrid, which also benefit from the industry’s production chain. Perhaps to support this activity, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Sustainable Development of Extremadura recently announced that it would allocate five million euros to help Integrated Tobacco Production to 500 farmers.
Is everything positive for the sector? No. Even though the cultivated area grows this year in Extremadura, the ministry’s data show that Spain continues to dedicate much less land to the tobacco used in 2014. Production is also clearly lower. It is not something that happens only in our country. The EU recognize that cultivation has been progressively decreasing in recent decades, and in a clear way as well: from 400,000 t at the beginning of the 90s it went to 140,000 t in 2018, a year in which the cultivated area at the community level was around 66,000 ha, half that of 2001.
This trend coincides with a clear decrease in tobacco consumption worldwide, largely encouraged by awareness campaigns and legislation that limits, for example, its advertising. If in 2000 you smoked on average 32.7% of the populationlast year that percentage had dropped to around 20.4%. In the specific case of Spain has decreased consumption per person has also plummeted and its popularity among younger people has plummeted. Only 4.3% of students aged 14 to 18 smoke daily.
What does the sector say? Warn that the debate should not focus on farmers. In fact, Sánchez warns of the “hypocrisy” of restricting tobacco cultivation in Europe while people continue smoking. “The tobacco will then come from outside,” ditch. IFA estimates that Extremaduran companies export around 70 million euros in tobacco leaves, 74% of its production.
Images | Irewolede (Unsplash) and MAP
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