Tobacco production elevates municipalities in the Rio Grande do Sul GDP ranking.

The release of a technical note from the Department of Economics and Statistics (DEE) in December 2025 placed Santa Cruz do Sul in 7th position in the Top 10 GDP ranking among municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is an indicator that expresses the total value of final goods and services produced in a given period—usually a year—functioning as a thermometer of economic activity.

The rise of the municipality in the ranking of the largest economies in Rio Grande do Sul has been continuous in recent years. In 2021, Santa Cruz do Sul occupied the 11th position and was not part of the Top 10 of the state's GDP. It entered the ranking in 2022, already in 8th place, and in 2023, with a GDP of R$ 13,3 billion and growth of 19,72% compared to the previous year, it advanced to 7th position.

Home to industrial units of the world's largest tobacco companies, Santa Cruz do Sul has its main economic support in this sector. For the president of the Interstate Tobacco Industry Union (SindiTabaco), Valmor Thesing (pictured), the figures confirm a historical perception.

“The tobacco industry and production drive the economy of the producing regions, also benefiting commerce and the service sector,” he states. “And the municipalities where there are industrial units, such as Santa Cruz do Sul and Venâncio Aires, have high GDP per capita, a result of the jobs, income, foreign exchange, and business opportunities provided by the sector,” he explains. According to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), in 2023, Santa Cruz do Sul accumulated a GDP per capita of R$ 100,5/year. Venâncio Aires, on the other hand, registered R$ 68,1 per capita in the same period.

Data from the Santa Cruz do Sul City Hall shows that, among the 20 largest companies in terms of Value Added Tax (ICMS) revenue in the municipality in 2024 — responsible for 85,94% of the total collected — the tobacco sector accounted for 70,18% of the revenue. The five main companies in the municipality belong to the tobacco sector.

In the state, Porto Alegre leads the list of GDP in Rio Grande do Sul, with R$ 104,7 billion, followed by Caxias do Sul (R$ 37,8 billion) and Canoas (R$ 29,1 billion). In 4th position is Gravataí (R$ 15,5 billion); in 5th, Rio Grande (R$ 14,1 billion); in 6th place, Passo Fundo, with R$ 14 billion; and, in 7th, Santa Cruz do Sul.

Santa Cruz do Sul and Venâncio Aires rank among Rio Grande do Sul's export destinations.

In 2025, Santa Cruz do Sul also stood out in the ranking of exports from Rio Grande do Sul: with the strong performance of tobacco, it secured 2nd place, behind only Rio Grande, the municipality that houses the main port in the Southern region of Brazil. Information available on the website of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade (MDIC/ComexStat) indicates that Santa Cruz do Sul exported more than US$1,87 billion during that period. The data also shows Venâncio Aires, another municipality with a strong tobacco sector influence, in 4th place in Rio Grande do Sul's exports, with more than US$1,21 billion in foreign sales that year.