The opening of the tobacco harvest in Rio Grande do Sul will take place in Rio Pardo.

The 7th Official Opening of the Tobacco Harvest will be held at the Family Farming Pavilion of the Expoagro Afubra Park, in Rincão Del Rey, Rio Pardo/RS. The date and time remain the same as initially scheduled: November 7th, at 14 PM. The event organizers opted for the change of location due to the weather forecast, which predicts heavy rain and winds for Friday, which could compromise the temporary structure to be installed to house the event and hinder access to the site. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place on the property of Anderson Rafael da Silva Barros, in the São José da Reserva area, in Santa Cruz do Sul/RS.

The event, which symbolically marks the beginning of the tobacco harvest in the state, is an official event of the Rio Grande do Sul State Government, organized by the Secretariats of Rural Development and Agriculture, Livestock, Sustainable Production and Irrigation. Organized by the Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco) and the Brazilian Tobacco Growers Association (Afubra), the ceremony will also bring together representatives of entities in the production chain and producing municipalities, parliamentarians, and the press to mark the start of the 2025/2026 harvest.

On that occasion, the Technical Cooperation Agreement of the Tobacco is Agriculture Program: Diversification of Properties will also be signed. According to the president of SindiTabaco, Valmor Thesing, the change of location was a preventive measure to avoid possible incidents. “We regret that the ceremony cannot take place on the property of one of the 69 producers in Rio Grande do Sul and we hope that the opening of the 2026 harvest will take place alongside a crop,” he says.

Production from Rio Grande do Sul

Rio Grande do Sul is the largest tobacco producer in Brazil. In the 2024/2025 harvest, tobacco production in the Southern Region of the country reached almost 720 tons, according to Afubra. Rio Grande do Sul concentrated 42% of the production, with 303 tons produced by 69 producers in 206 municipalities. Tobacco generated R$ 6,2 billion in revenue for producers in Rio Grande do Sul. Learn more: tobacco sector figures