3 min read
The Global Tobacco Market: How International Prices Shape Farmer Livelihoods
Tobacco is a global commodity—prices set by international markets, not local conditions. Farmers have no control over prices. The global market shapes their livelihoods—and its decline will shape their futures.
A tobacco farmer in Malawi receives a price set by a leaf company—based on global market conditions the farmer cannot influence. When global demand declines—as it is declining—the farmer bears the cost. **Tobacco is a global commodity, and farmers are price-takers: they have no bargaining power, no market information, and no alternatives. The global market that sustained tobacco farming for a century is now contracting—and the farmers who depend on it have no control over the contraction.**
