Leaf Tobacco & Commodities (U)

Last updated
Leaf Tobacco & Commodities (U)
Company typeTobacco products production and distribution
Founder Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa
Headquarters
Uganda
ProductsSupermatch cigarettes
Owner Pan African Tobacco Group

Leaf Tobacco & Commodities (U) (LTC) manufactures cigarettes under the Supermatch brand in Uganda. It is a subsidiary of the Pan African Tobacco Group (PTG).

Contents

History

The Burundi Tobacco Company BTC was founded by in 1979 by Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa. [1] [2] He next founded an enterprise in neighboring Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. [3] These became the basis for the Pan African Tobacco Group (PTG). [1] Ayabatwa bought large areas of land in the northwestern West Nile sub-region of Uganda, where his Meridian Tobacco Company's subsidiary, the Leaf Tobacco Company, employed thousands of people growing tobacco. [4] PTG became the largest tobacco company in Africa. [5] Leaf Tobacco & Commodities (U) is a subsidiary of PTG. [6]

In 1996 BTC let Mastermind Tobacco Uganda Ltd. use its "Supermatch" trademark. In July 2002 BTC discontinued the arrangement on the grounds that Mastermind's cigarettes did not meet BTC's quality requirements. They transferred the trademark to Leaf Tobacco, a new company based in Kireka. The Ugandan commercial court ordered Mastermind to halt production of Supermatch cigarettes until the trademark infringement case had been resolved. [7]

In September 2013 a report on a bill to amend the excise tariff drew on submissions from Leaf Tobacco and Commodities (U) among others. [8] At that time, LTC was the only cigarette manufacturer in Uganda, and employed more than 14,000 people. Companies such as BAT(U) had moved to Kenya, and only exported unprocessed leaf tobacco, paying no export duty. LTC had invested $20 million in Northern Uganda into tobacco manufacturing, to add value before the products were exported. There had been an increase in dumping of cigarettes imported without duty, and cigarettes that were said to be in transit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo or South Sudan ended up being sold in Uganda. There was uncontrolled smuggling of cigarettes branded as "Super match". [9]

In May 2015 the Ugandan Finance Minister, Matia Kasaija, said that local manufacturers that used locally grown tobacco would be taxed at a lower rate than companies that import cigarettes made elsewhere. [10] In 2019 a South Sudan court ruled that Mastermind of Kenya, the parent company of Mastermind Tobacco Uganda, could not export its Supermatch cigarettes to South Sudan in competition with Leaf. The Ugandan position was that they could "escort" Mastermind's cigarettes across Uganda to South Sudan, but it was up to the South Sudan customs to decide whether to admit them. [11]

As of 2023 British American Tobacco and Leaf Tobacco & Commodities dominated the tobacco market in Uganda. Price increases had made cigarettes less affordable, resulting in lower sales for premium brands. Cigarettes sold illicitly had a larger market share than tax-paid cigarettes. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British American Tobacco</span> British multinational tobacco company

British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products including electronic cigarettes. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2021, it is the largest tobacco company in the world based on net sales and the third largest seller of vapes in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirundo Province</span> Province of Burundi

Kirundo Province is one of the eighteen provinces of Burundi, in north of the country bordering Rwanda. The economy is mostly based on agriculture, with a dispersed population and few sizable communities. Before 1970 large parts of the province were forested. Migrants from the south then cleared much of the vegetation to create agricultural land, and Kirundo became the breadbasket of Burundi. The civil war from 1993 to 2005 caused agricultural output to drop by more than half. Since then, lack of farm inputs, poor infrastructure and shortages of water have caused widespread poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCB Bank Kenya Limited</span> Commercial bank in Kenya

KCB Bank Kenya Limited is a financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It is licensed as a commercial bank, by the Central Bank of Kenya, the national banking regulator. The bank has also been running Agency banking model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East African Federation</span> Proposed African country

The East African Federation is a proposed federal sovereign state consisting of the eight member states of East African Community in the African Great Lakes region – Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The idea of this federation has existed since the early 1960s but has not yet come to fruition for several reasons. In September 2018, a committee was formed to begin the process of drafting a regional constitution, and a draft constitution for the confederation was set to be written by the end of 2021 with its implementation by 2023. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted plans to draft and implement a constitution. On 9 May 2023, the drafting of the constitution resumed with a 20-day consultation with local stakeholders in Kenya. The East African Federation has not yet been established, but many steps have been taken to advance this eventual goal. Institutions and governing bodies already exist for the eventual union of these nations, with representatives from all of the related nations working together towards this common goal.

KCB Group Limited, also known as the KCB Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. The Group's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with its subsidiaries being KCB Bank Kenya Limited, KCB Bank Burundi Limited, KCB Bank Rwanda Limited, KCB Bank South Sudan Limited, KCB Bank Tanzania Limited, KCB TMB Congo and KCB Bank Uganda Limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madhvani Group</span> Conglomerate in Uganda

The Madhvani Group of Companies commonly referred to as the Madhvani Group, is one of the largest conglomerates in Uganda. The group has investments in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Middle East, India, and North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruparelia Group</span> Conglomerate in Uganda

The Ruparelia Group of Companies, commonly referred to as the Ruparelia Group, is a privately owned conglomerate in Uganda. Sudhir Ruparelia, a wealthy Ugandan businessman, is a shareholder in each of the companies in the Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudhir Ruparelia</span> Ugandan businessman

Sudhir Ruparelia is a Ugandan business magnate and investor. He is the chairman and majority shareholder in the Ruparelia Group companies. His investments are mainly in the banking, insurance, education, broadcasting, real estate, floriculture and hotels and resorts sectors.

Ashish J. Thakkar is an East African entrepreneur. He is the founder of Mara Group and Mara Foundation and also a co-founder of Atlas Mara Limited. Thakkar was born in the United Kingdom, but he moved to East Africa as a teenager before founding Mara Group, a Pan-African conglomerate, at the age of 15. Mara Group's operations and investments span 22 African countries. He is the author of The Lion Awakes: Adventures in Africa's Economic Miracle.

Brookside Dairy Limited, often referred to as Brookside Dairies, is a dairy processing company in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. The company offers fresh pasteurized milk, cream, butter, yogurt, ghee, and long life milk products in Indian Ocean Islands, East Africa, Rwanda and Burundi. It provides products through distribution depots, agents, and sub agents to outlets in East Africa.

Tanzania Cigarette Company Ltd. is a tobacco company operating in Tanzania. The company started operations in 1961 as the East African Tobacco. Years later the government bought a large stake in the company and nationalized the company during the Ujamaa movement in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammed Hamid (entrepreneur)</span> Ugandan investor

Mohammed Hamid is a Ugandan businessman. He is the owner and chairman of the executive board of directors for the Aya Group.

Bakhresa Group is an industrial conglomerate based in Tanzania, East Africa. Owned by an entrepreneur and Tanzanian billionaire Said Salim Bakhresa, the business is one of the largest in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ada Osakwe</span> Nigerian economist, entrepreneur, and executive

Ada Osakwe is a Nigerian economist, an entrepreneur and corporate executive, who is the founder and chief executive officer of Agrolay Ventures, an agribusiness investment company based in Nigeria, which invests in African agricultural food-related companies. She is also the founder of Nuli Foods and Nuli Juice company. From November 2012 until May 2015, Ada Osakwe was the Senior Investment Adviser to Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Akinwumi Adesina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trade in the East African Community</span>

Countries of the East African Community (EAC) include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan. These nations fall below par in different measures of economic activities such as GDP per capita, population below the poverty line, unemployment, and trade. The East African Community has made an effort to bolster trade through enhancing co-operation economically, socially, and politically within the member nations. "The aim of EAC is to gradually establish among themselves a Customs Union, a Common Market, a Monetary Union, and ultimately a Political Federation of the East African States." East African Community countries also have active trade to other parts of the world, like the European Union. Each country is a part of the World Trade Organization except for South Sudan who remains out of this conglomeration. As of 2014, these six countries have a combined GDP of $159.5 billion, GDP per capita of $918, total population of 168.5 million, total import $40.2 billion, and total export $13.6 billion. These countries become much stronger as a part of the community as they become a larger market for trade outside of the bloc. Also, the bloc allows for free trade between the member countries helping not only producers who have more options to sell their product but also consumers who have more cheap goods. It is always important for fish to be in fresh water lakes

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 CECAFA Cup</span> International football competition

The 2019 CECAFA Cup was the 40th edition of the annual CECAFA Cup, an international football competition consisting of the national teams of member nations of the Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA). It took place in Uganda in December 2019.

The 2022 CECAFA U17 Championship was the 5th CECAFA U-17 Championship organized by CECAFA. It took place from October 3 to October 15, 2022 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Tribert Rujugiro Ayabatwa was a Rwandan entrepreneur, best known as the founder of the Pan African Tobacco Group, the largest tobacco company in Africa. In his later years he fell out with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and left the country. Kagame accused him of funding rebel groups and of economic crimes, and tried to get him extradited from Uganda, leading to a rift between the two countries. The government seized and sold his property in Rwanda. Ayabatwa died in April 2024 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Burundi Tobacco Company (BTC) manufactures cigarettes under the Supermatch brand in Burundi. It is a subsidiary of the Pan African Tobacco Group (PTG).

The Pan African Tobacco Group (PTG) is a multinational tobacco company operating in Africa and the Near East.

References

  1. 1 2 Mfonobong Nsehe 2021.
  2. ↑ Report No. 9686-BU Burundi, pp. 78.
  3. ↑ Mfonobong Nsehe 2014.
  4. ↑ Naturinda 2024.
  5. ↑ Bishumba 2024.
  6. ↑ Our Group of Companies – PTG.
  7. ↑ Jude Etyang 2002.
  8. ↑ Okello 2013, p. 27.
  9. ↑ Okello 2013, p. 29.
  10. ↑ Local tobacco firms to pay less taxes.
  11. ↑ Carmel Rickard 2019.
  12. ↑ Tobacco in Uganda Euromonitor.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.