Production of cigarettes China 2013-2023

In 2023, about 2.44 trillion cigarettes were produced in China, up from approximately 2.42 trillion in the previous year. China’s cigarette production volume plunged in 2016 after the government raised the tobacco excise tax, but slowly recovered in recent years.

Tobacco cultivation in China

Though facing a continuous decline since 2013, China still has the world’s largest tobacco harvest area. In 2023, the country recorded over one million hectares of tobacco acreage, nearly a third of the global total. Benefiting from its climate, Yunnan province took an invincible lead in China’s tobacco plantation. Almost 896,000 metric tons of tobacco were produced in Yunnan in 2023, spanning more than 426,000 hectares.

China National Tobacco Corporation

Founded in 1982, China National Tobacco Corporation (also known as China Tobacco or CNTC) is the largest tobacco company in the world, producing more than 40 percent of global cigarettes. The state-owned enterprise monopolizes China’s tobacco growing, manufacturing, distribution, and sales. China Tobacco does not operate as a single organization. It controls hundreds of tobacco companies throughout China under one umbrella. China Tobacco International, one of China Tobacco’s major subsidiaries, went public on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2019.