The federal government has set the minimum price for the 2026 tobacco crop at Rs525 per kilogram, sources told.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is Pakistan’s leading tobacco-producing province, with flue-cured Virginia tobacco being the main variety used in cigarette manufacturing.
The major tobacco-growing districts in the province include Swabi, Mardan, Charsadda, Buner and Mansehra. According to the Pakistan Tobacco Board, the tobacco sector supports around 80,000 farmers across the country, including more than 45,000 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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Tobacco is also cultivated in Punjab and other provinces, where different varieties are grown for various uses. Apart from cigarettes, tobacco is used in products such as naswar, snuff and hookah tobacco.
The Pakistan Tobacco Board is responsible for setting tobacco prices, conducting production cost surveys, preparing market forecasts and overseeing purchasing arrangements between farmers and tobacco companies.