Chapter 588: Harare Tobacco Factory
While Ernst, the Crown Prince, was busy wrapping up end-of-year government tasks, King Konstantin of East Africa had gone out again for inspections—or perhaps just to relax.
As he got older, he enjoyed traveling more. Administrative duties were better left to his son. Of course, this was made possible thanks to improvements in East Africa's transportation network. Previously, Konstantin could only tour within the Central Province. Now he could go much farther.
This time, he took a private train along the East African Central Railway to the rising star of the region—Harare City.
Harare, the capital of Matabele Province, lies near 18° south latitude. Most cities in East Africa are in the southern hemisphere.
Currently, it was summer in the southern hemisphere. But Harare's temperature was a mere 23°C, cloudy—similar to the climate of First Town—so there was no need to worry about weather discomfort.
East Africa was extremely well-suited for retirement: no extreme heat in summer, no bitter cold in winter—spring-like weather all year. Of course, this only held true if infrastructure was well-developed. For someone of Konstantin's age, anything less would be a hassle.
In a previous life, Harare was known as a famous summer retreat—and many East African cities shared that distinction.
"Today, Harare is the largest domestic tobacco hub in East Africa. The tobacco factory is one of the city's pillar industries, with daily trading volumes exceeding 1,000 tons. Only the two open ports—Mombasa and Dar es Salaam—can compare.
But Mombasa and Dar focus on the international market, while Harare represents both domestic tobacco consumption and East Africa's international reputation. This year, we added over 10,000 new acres of tobacco fields, but demand still exceeds supply," said the factory director enthusiastically as he briefed King Konstantin.
"Harare tobacco has made quite a name for itself—especially in the German regions. I've heard that from the beginning, Matabele tobacco followed a premium strategy. Now many German cigarettes blend Matabele leaves to enhance flavor and aroma," Konstantin noted insightfully.
Matabele's representative product was "Golden Leaf," targeting the German high-end market, which later expanded to Eastern Europe or shipped directly to the Far East.
The Germany-to-Eastern Europe route worked because industrial powers in the West still carried prestige in semi-industrial or agricultural countries—and East African tobacco had the quality to match. It became very popular.
Exports to the Far East made sense too—it was the world's largest independent market aside from Britain and America. Britain led a bloc of colonies that boycotted East African goods, and the U.S. was a tobacco powerhouse. Latin America and the Caribbean also produced tobacco in abundance.
Thus, East Africa's key markets were: Germany, Eastern Europe, the Arab world, the Far East, and others.
Trade with the Far East was decent, but tobacco was not a key product—since many regions there could grow it themselves. The Huaihai trade zone was part of this.
East Africa's strongest economic links were with Eastern Europe and the Arab world—where its products were highly competitive.
Eastern Europe, with its high latitude, lacked tropical cash crops. East Africa was the nearest supplier. Countries like Russia absorbed a large share of East African fruits, vegetables, and other exports.
Germany was a major buyer of East African agricultural products, but also a big exporter to East Africa—especially industrial goods and machinery.
Russia, the most industrialized of the Eastern European nations, had a slightly broader product range than East Africa, but lacked tropical goods—so East Africa exported far more to Russia than it imported.
Take bananas for example: Somalia was the closest banana-producing region to Eastern Europe. For many buyers, it was the only viable option.
Though Somalia was dry, it had vast land and the Juba and Shebelle Rivers for irrigation. Banana production was strong enough to compete with Caribbean nations.
For the Arab world, East Africa's biggest advantage was proximity—but it also offered something else: respect. Much like Latin American countries once viewed the U.S. as the heroic champion of freedom against Britain and France, the Arabs saw East Africa as a dignified, friendly partner.
That irony wasn't lost on anyone.
Arab countries, with their harsh environments and scarce resources, welcomed East Africa's affordable exports. Oil hadn't been discovered yet.
So in addition to being an agricultural supplier, East Africa was also a major industrial goods exporter to both the Far East and the Arab world.
Tobacco was no different. East Africa was the nearest large-scale producer—known for its volume, quality, and low price.
Thanks to Hechingen Tobacco Company's branding, East African tobacco looked and felt high-end. It carried an air of industrial elegance and was in high demand.
Unlike later eras, people were obsessed with industrial products at this time. Using them signaled quality of life—even in food.
The Harare factory director replied, "Exactly, Your Majesty. Our tobacco has been cultivated for years. Quality is assured. We're even working on new strains to boost yield while maintaining flavor."
"This factory looks quite large. It's my first time visiting a tobacco plant," said Konstantin.
Proudly, the director said, "Your Majesty, our factory was co-designed by architects and tobacco-processing engineers hired by Hechingen Tobacco from Europe. That's why the buildings look grand and elegant. The environment is comfortable, every machine and room is logically placed for maximum efficiency. With everything organized, over 800 workers operate smoothly without chaos. It's all thanks to expert planning."
He continued, pointing to a conveyor: "Our raw materials are manually sorted, then moved by machine to the next stage. The entire plant is clean, orderly, and everyone follows protocol. That's how we maintain high output."
"Of course, we've had challenges. Our original design was too conservative. Now we're short on space and adding new equipment—which disrupts our layout. Plus, European tech evolves fast. Who knows when we'll fall behind?"
That concern was unnecessary. Hechingen Tobacco was a monopoly—controlling most of the tobacco trade in Germany, East Africa, and Eastern Europe. It also held upstream technology.
Even if future equipment changed, Hechingen Tobacco would stay ahead. It had the means to remain an oligopoly.
And Ernst, as the owner, would never let the company stifle East Africa's development.
It may sound odd, but there was room for this setup. Harare's tobacco plant was state-owned. Hechingen Tobacco was private. The factory handled production. The company did R&D and sales.
They were partners—though Hechingen held the upper hand. Harare only managed processing. Tobacco cultivation was under the agriculture ministry.
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