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Shisha grade tobacco field in Lukowa. Photo credit: Lukowa Tobacco
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Shisha grade tobacco harvesting in Poland. Photo credit: Lukowa Tobacco
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Miroslaw Pekala, owner and c.e.o. of Lukowa Tobacco. Photo credit: Lukowa Tobacco
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TIMB acting c.e.o. Emmanuel Matsvaire. Photo credit: TIMB
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Packed tobacco displaying the lemon yellow color so characteristic for quality shisha grade tobacco. Photo credit: Mella SRL
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Cured Zimbabwean shisha tobacco. Photo credit: Cavendish
Shisha grade tobacco is supplied by only a handful of countries, the reasons for which are quite complex.
Traditional shisha tobacco (a.k.a. shisha molasses) requires in its manufacture a specialized type of raw tobacco. Most commonly of the virginia variety, the leaves are characterized by a naturally high sugar content (minimum 25%, though commonly much higher than that); low nicotine (<1%); and a light lemon color. With the shisha industry booming compared to other tobacco product sectors, it seems curious that only a handful of countries are growing this particular commodity in commercially meaningful volumes. At present, France, Germany and Poland are the main producer countries, while Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, and the United States shell out smaller volumes. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe became the first nation in southern Africa to join the exclusive club only a few years ago.
Poland is the largest producer nation
The vast fertile fields surrounding the small town of Lukowa in southwestern Poland are this country’s largest tobacco growing region by far. Aptly named tobacco processor and merchant company Lukowa Tobacco (lukowatobacco.pl) has made a name for itself as one of the world’s most important suppliers of shisha-grade tobacco. Miroslaw Pekala, owner and c.e.o. of Lukowa Tobacco, disclosed to Tobacco Asia that “90% of our production is shisha grades” and that the commodity indeed constitutes the Polish outfit’s core business. The company distributes to its member farmers mostly imported French and German seed varietals especially developed for shisha-style FCV that produce the desired high-sugar, low-nicotine, light lemon-colored leaves. “Depending on the particular production grade and our customers’ requirements, we are providing leaves with nicotine from 0.5% to 1.1-1.5% and total sugars usually above 30%,” said Pekala.
According to Pekala, Poland currently is the overall biggest country worldwide to cultivate FCV shisha tobacco, with an annual output of 15,000-17,000 tons. Runner-up Germany still shells out around 5,000 tons per annum, while France clocks in at approximately 1,500 tons. The remaining supplier nations produce relatively smaller, sometimes miniscule, volumes.
This occasionally causes supply bottlenecks for shisha molasses manufacturers. But why is that so? Why aren’t more tobacco-growing nations casting their eyes on a specialized crop that appears to present an excellent opportunity to increase customer bases and revenues? For instance, why haven’t major suppliers such as India, Indonesia, or Pakistan secured their spots on the shisha grade tobacco map?
Environmental conditions are indispensable factors
Well, as so often the case, there is no simple answer. While shisha grade seeds are readily available, the crops just won’t grow everyplace – or at least the plants won’t develop in the desired way. Certain climate conditions are crucially important. It must be neither too hot nor too cold, nor too humid or too dry. Average temperatures of 20-30 degrees Celsius and 8-12 hours of not-too-intense sunlight are ideal. Then there is the soil. It should be well-draining (yet moderate moisture retaining), nutrient-rich, light loam that’s neither too sandy nor too heavy, with a pH level of 6.0 to 7.0.
Apart from those factors, there also can be a high entry barrier for farmers who might contemplate getting into the shisha grade tobacco business. Financial investment into agricultural machines, curing barns and poly-tunnels for seedlings can be overburdening. Last but not least, cultivating shisha grade tobacco requires knowledge and expertise. Though plants are not topped in order to achieve the targeted nicotine and sugar chemistry, “even one small mistake at any growing stage can cause negative consequences in final leaf quality, leading to less profit for the farmer,” according to Pekala.
Zimbabwe, the new kid on the block
The latest player on the shisha grade tobacco bandwagon is Zimbabwe. Together with its neighbor Malawi (which specializes in burley), the country has long been southern Africa’s premier tobacco producer, in this case particularly flue-cured virginia crops. Being almost entirely perched on a high plateau, Zimbabwe’s country’s climate is almost perfect: balmy summers without scorching heat, mild winters, generous rainfall. In addition, Zimbabwe’s mostly flat landscapes are blessed with the ideal soil conditions described earlier.
But it was only in 2022 that Cavendish Lloyd Group (cavendishlloyd.com), an international company with operations in several countries, including China, the Netherlands, and the UAE, recognized that Zimbabwe was suited for shisha grade tobacco. First experimental crops were planted in the same year. “We have been making waves in the industry, as we are pioneering the production of shisha grade tobacco [in Zimbabwe]… and remain at present the sole licensed contractor for [this particular commodity] in the country, working closely with regulatory boards such as the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB; timb.co.zw) and Kutsaga in providing support to our farmers,” said Rutendo R Mandonye, administrator of the company group’s local subsidiary, Cavendish Lloyd (Zimbabwe).
Meanwhile, TIMB acting c.e.o. Emmanuel Matsvaire confirmed to Tobacco Asia that Cavendish Lloyd (Zimbabwe) was indeed issued with Zimbabwe’s first and so far only production license for shisha grade tobacco in 2023. “This was in line with the Tobacco Value Chain Transformation Plan (2021-2025) set up by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, which seeks to develop alternative uses of tobacco and expand farmers’ livelihood options,” Matsvaire told Tobacco Asia.
Increasing crop volumes bring Zimbabwe up to speed
At present, Cavendish Lloyd maintains 150 contract farmers, with 62% of these being smallholders, according to Mandonye. The crops are cultivated in slow growing regions of the Zimbabwean provinces of Mashonaland West and Mashonaland East at elevations of above 1,300m. “After processing, we utilize the seaport of Beira in Mozambique, which offers us a convenient and efficient land route [Zimbabwe is land locked], and Durban Port in South Africa, which is the ideal hub for exporting to global markets,” pointed out Mandonye.
Zimbabwe in 2023 produced 101.6 tons of shisha grade tobacco, divulged Matsvaire, while in 2024 this had already risen to 399.4 tons. For the current season, a volume hovering around 650 tons is expected. Although these figures may pale in comparison to the outputs of the big European producer nations, they still go to show that there is a definite potential for shisha grade tobacco farming in Zimbabwe.
Teething problems that require tackling
However, all beginnings are hard. Even an experienced company like Cavendish Lloyd faces a multitude of challenges that can impact crop yields and quality. For example. the planting density of shisha grade tobacco saplings typically is double that of regular virginia crops. “Hence, the farmers spend double the time and labor on transplanting,” explained Mandonye. “Some growers end up having too-low plant populations, which leads to high nicotine content and low yields,” he added, demonstrating the importance of adequately tutoring farmers how to handle the specialized crop.
Then, while shisha grade plants should not be topped, some growers are still tempted to do the exact opposite out of old habit, ending up with high nicotine and very low sugars. Furthermore, shisha grade leaves have thinner lamina and midribs than regular plants. “To address that, curing procedures are different from those of normal virginia. Yet some growers mix the two varieties in the same curing facility, and that likewise has led to poor quality and yield,” Mandonye admitted. Finally, shisha grade tobacco is a very rapidly ripening crop. Growers are sometimes not prepared for arranging labor quickly enough at peak reaping time. “Once again, that can mean a loss on quality and yield due to over ripening,” pointed out Mandonye.
Mella SRL: A quarter century of expertise
Italy may not be on the list of countries that have taken to produce shisha grade tobacco, for various reasons, but the country is home to Mella SRL (mellasrl.com), one of the globe’s leading processors and suppliers of the commodity (and practically every other raw tobacco product, of course). With 22 years of expertise under its belt, the family-owned business is today led by the Mella family, in the form of company founder Guido Mella and his two sons, Federico and Lorenzo.
Federico Mella told Tobacco Asia that while shisha grade virginia should have at least 25% sugars and very low nicotine, in the end the chemistry always depended on individual shisha molasses manufacturers’ preferences, as well as the destination country of final consumption. “The sugar content typically accepted by our clients for virginia tobacco ranges between 28% and 32%, and it is generally not considered Top shisha tobacco if it does not have at least this amount,” Mella said. “As for nicotine content, for the same virginia variety, it should preferably be between 0.80% and 1.10%.” FCV aside, other varieties such as DFC and burley can of course also be suitable for producing shisha molasses, provided their chemistry is right. Mella pointed out the leading roles that France, Poland, and Germany continued holding as the world’s top shisha grade tobacco growers, but also acknowledged that there were newcomers such as Zimbabwe.
Sugar Rush
To the uninitiated observer it might appear curious why shisha grade tobaccos ought to be characterized by such high contents of sugars (glucose and fructose). After all, shisha molasses (a.k.a. hookah tobacco) itself only contains around 15% of actual tobacco leaf. As the terminology suggests, the bulk of the product is indeed molasses, which is almost pure sugar. However, according to Federico Mella of Mella SRL, high sugar in the leaf causes the final color of the molasses to be very light, in addition to having a high aroma absorption and moisture retention capacity. While the high sugar/low nicotine ratio has an important role for producing a sweet, mellow taste and smooth smoke, “what adds value is the uniform bright lemon-yellow color of the leaves, which can only be achieved through careful selection during sorting at farm level, and then later by us, the processors, during the blending phase,” Mella explained.