SwissTabac

SwissTabac is the umbrella cooperative representing tobacco growers across Switzerland. It supports a traditional agricultural sector with more than 300 years of history, sharing information about production and serving as a point of contact for growers and the public. Tobacco is currently cultivated by about 140 farms in eight cantons, across roughly 400 hectares. More than 85 percent of the growing area is in French-speaking Switzerland, particularly the Vaud and Fribourg Broye region, with the remainder spread across several German-speaking cantons, the Jura and the Rhône region.

Swiss growers produce two types of tobacco: Burley, naturally air-cured in traditional barns, and Virginia, artificially cured in ovens. Production involves raising seedlings, planting, crop care, hand-harvesting and carefully controlled drying, which is essential to meeting market requirements. SwissTabac provides information on these cultivation practices and has administrative and technical staff, including a tobacco adviser. The cooperative also publishes sector figures and media information, and shares notices about seasonal tobacco-picking work. Its secretariat is based in Payerne, Switzerland.