PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has commissioned a multi-million-dollar expansion at Cut Rag Processors, making it Africa’s biggest tobacco processing plant.
The plant has capacity to process 12 000 cigarettes per minute.
It is designed to increase the domestic production of cut rag tobacco and cigarettes.
The commissioning follows the announcement that Zimbabwe’s 2025 tobacco production reached an all-time high of 355 million kilogrammes, valued at US$1,2 billion, cementing its position as the world’s sixth-largest tobacco producer.
Mnangagwa said the investment was a direct outcome of his government’s economic agenda.
“This occasion demonstrates Zimbabwe’s on-going industrial resurgence and a testament that ‘Zimbabwe is open for business’,” he said.
He added that the state-of-the-art plant would advance the country’s goal of moving from raw material to finished goods exports.
“This remarkable capacity of the plant is set to consolidate Zimbabwe’s self-sufficiency in tobacco manufacturing and as an emerging exporter of high-value, finished tobacco products,” he said.
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The investment by Cut Rag Processors, Zimbabwe’s first independent cut rag manufacturer established in 2000, was cited as evidence of growing private sector confidence.
Mnangagwa linked the development to his administration’s reforms.
“We are determined to ensure that no investment is hindered by bureaucratic red tape,” he said.
For decades, Zimbabwe has been a top global exporter of raw, flue-cured tobacco, with the bulk of profits realised from manufactured products accruing to international companies.
Cut Rag Processors general manager Lesley Malunga said the plant would positively impact Zimbabwe’s economy.
“This expansion is not just about volume; it’s about value capture,” he said.
“Instead of shipping container loads of unbaled tobacco leaf, we can now export refined, packaged cut rag and finished cigarettes, which keeps a significantly larger portion of the revenue within Zimbabwe.”
Malunga added that the facility would create hundreds of jobs in processing and packaging, in addition to supporting services such as logistics and engineering.
The tobacco industry remains a vital source of foreign currency, contributing over 25% to the nation's earnings.
