Markets
Vietnam imports tobacco leaf under an annual quota, and only licensed manufacturers and processors may buy
About US$307 million of unmanufactured tobacco entered Vietnam in 2023, and the 2026 tariff-rate quota is 79,199 tonnes. This page sets out who may import, how the quota works, where the leaf comes from today, and what a supplier from India can do.
At a glance
A controlled market with a short list of buyers
Imported in 2023
All unmanufactured tobacco, HS 2401. About 93% of the value was stemmed leaf.
2026 import quota
Up 5% on 2025. It runs from 15 March to 31 December 2026.
Of the 2025 quota allocated
42,144 t of 75,427 t, as reported. Buyers' declared needs set demand, not the quota total.
From four origins
Brazil, Indonesia, China and the USA supplied about 90% of 2023 import value.
Sources: UN Comtrade / World Bank WITS (Vietnam as reporter), 2023; Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) circulars; Tap chi Cong Thuong on 2025 allocation. Details and years are in the sections below.
The quota system
MOIT sets one tariff-rate quota a year, and permits follow the circular
| Year | HS 2401 quota | Valid |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 71,835 t | From February 2024 to 31 December 2024 |
| 2025 | 75,427 t | 22 April to 31 December 2025 (Circular 20/2025/TT-BCT) |
| 2026 | 79,199 t | 15 March to 31 December 2026 (Circular 04/2026/TT-BCT) |
Under Decree 67/2013, manufacturers and leaf processors send MOIT their import demand for the next year by 15 November. MOIT notifies each company's share before 15 December and publishes the allocation. The circular takes effect between February and April, so import permits for the year cannot be issued earlier and there is no fixed buying season.
The 2026 quota is the 2025 total plus 5%, in line with Vietnam's WTO commitment. Separate origin quotas sit inside it: 500 t a year for Eurasian Economic Union origin and 3,000 t a year for Laos.
Sources: MOIT quota circulars for 2024, 2025 and 2026; Decree 67/2013/ND-CP, text as issued; 2025 allocation as reported by Tap chi Cong Thuong in 2026.
Who may import
Licence holders only, and the leaf stays with them
Raw tobacco imports are under MOIT specialised management. Only a holder of a cigarette production licence or a tobacco raw-material processing licence may import leaf, within its licensed volume and its allocation.
Imported leaf may be used only for the registered purpose, whether domestic cigarette production, export production or processing for export. It may not be sold on the market. For a supplier, the licence holder is the counterparty.
Decree 67/2013 also requires cigarette makers to use domestic leaf first and import only the shortfall under an annual MOIT plan. Foreign-label and export products are exempt from that rule.
The licensed counterparties
A state-owned group, Vinataba, supplies well over half of the legal market, reported at nearly 58% in 2022. British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International operate through joint ventures with it, and Imperial Brands holds about 7%.
Vinataba buys nearly 37,000 t of domestic leaf a year from about 90,000 growers and states an aim to reduce its dependence on imported material. Domestic leaf output fell from 56,500 t in 2010 to 29,000 t in 2020. Since 1 January 2025, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are banned, so leaf demand follows conventional cigarettes. From 2027 a specific excise component is added to the 75% ad valorem rate on finished cigarettes.
Sources: Decree 67/2013/ND-CP, articles 17 and 36; Tobacco Tactics Viet Nam profile (2022 shares, domestic output); Vinataba, December 2024; Tobacco Asia on the 2025 ban; Excise Tax Law, June 2025.
Imports and origins
Brazil and Indonesia lead, and India's share is about 1.4%
Vietnam's latest published origin data in the database we use is for 2023. Quantities in that database appear to be estimated from values, so this page gives values only.
| Origin, 2023 | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | US$117.6M | 38% |
| Indonesia | US$90.0M | 29% |
| China | US$38.7M | 13% |
| USA | US$27.2M | 9% |
| India | US$4.2M | about 1.4% |
Total imports were US$228M in 2020 and US$307M in 2023, up about 35%. Stemmed leaf (HS 2401.20) was US$286M of the 2023 total, unstemmed leaf US$13M and refuse (scrap, stems and dust, HS 2401.30) US$7.7M.
India's recorded sales to Vietnam were about US$4.1M in 2020, US$6.3M in 2021, US$1.7M in 2022 and US$4.2M in 2023. Refuse came from China (US$4.3M), Brazil (US$2.0M), Indonesia (US$1.3M) and the USA (US$0.1M), with none recorded from India. The refuse market is small and does not call for a separate strategy.
Source: UN Comtrade / WITS (Vietnam as reporter), HS 2401, 2020 to 2023. Shares are our arithmetic on 2023 values; origin values are orders of magnitude, not an audited series. No 2024 or 2025 data by origin were available to us.
What a supplier does
Specification, sample and documents, offered to the licence holder
The route to Vietnam runs through a quota-holding manufacturer or leaf processor. There is no spot market to sell into, so the work is a credible lamina offer made to those buyers and kept ready until their allocation and permit are in place.
- Specification. Type, grade and nicotine, with moisture not above 12% at loading, crop 2026.
- Sample. A lot sample goes to the buyer's technical team with its specification sheet.
- Documents. Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, phytosanitary and fumigation certificates where required, and a quality report.
- Permit and duty. Timing and duty depend on the buyer's allocation, its permit and the tariff treatment of Indian origin, which the buyer's customs adviser confirms.
Ask any prospect for its MOIT licence type, its current-year allocation and the purpose of the leaf.
Ports and lanes
Ho Chi Minh City in the south, Hai Phong in the north
Southern cargo discharges around Ho Chi Minh City, at Cat Lai or the deep-water Cai Mep-Thi Vai terminals, and northern cargo at Hai Phong. Vinataba's main factories are Thang Long in Hanoi and Saigon Tobacco in Ho Chi Minh City.
Forwarder estimates are about 17 days from Mundra and 18 days from Nhava Sheva to Ho Chi Minh City, and about 19 days from Nhava Sheva to Hai Phong, port to port. They vary by carrier and routing, so use the carrier's schedule.
Buyer questions
Five questions Vietnamese buyers ask
Who is allowed to import tobacco leaf into Vietnam?
Companies holding a cigarette production licence or a leaf-processing licence from MOIT, within their allocation. The leaf is for the registered purpose and may not be sold on the market.
How big is the quota, and when does it open?
79,199 t for 2026, effective 15 March to 31 December 2026. The 2025 quota was 75,427 t and the 2024 quota 71,835 t. Dates move each year, and permits follow the circular. Only 55.9% of the 2025 quota was allocated.
Does Indian leaf face a different duty or quota?
That depends on the quota treatment of the origin and the applicable duty schedule. Your customs adviser confirms both.
Which countries supply Vietnam today?
By 2023 value: Brazil about 38%, Indonesia 29%, China 13% and the USA 9%, with India about 1.4%.
Is there demand for scrap, stems and dust?
Only a small one: Vietnam imported US$7.7M of refuse in 2023, from China, Brazil, Indonesia and the USA.
Sources and years: UN Comtrade / World Bank WITS, Vietnam imports, HS 2401, 2020 to 2023; MOIT tariff-rate quota circulars for 2024, 2025 (20/2025/TT-BCT) and 2026 (04/2026/TT-BCT); Decree 67/2013/ND-CP, text as issued (later amendments not reviewed); Tap chi Cong Thuong (2025 allocation and 2026 quota basis); Tobacco Tactics, Viet Nam country profile (2022 shares, 2010 and 2020 domestic output); Vinataba, December 2024; Tobacco Asia (2025 ban); Excise Tax Law, June 2025. Shares and growth are our arithmetic on these figures.
Tell us the grade and the port
Email contact@indileaf.co or ring +91 80001 50037 with your licence type, the grade and the discharge port.
