The Ministry of Finance has paid out over 2 billion denars in tobacco subsidies - more precisely 2,028,714,243 denars - intended for 15,144 tobacco growers for the tobacco produced and delivered from the 2025 harvest. A figure that sounds impressive, but behind it stands a much older and harder story.

Tobacco in Macedonia isn't just a crop - it's a way of life for entire regions, especially in the south and east of the country. Tens of thousands of families have for decades tied their livelihood to a leaf picked in the scorching heat, dried in the curing barn, and handed over at a price the growers rarely have a say in. That's exactly why the subsidy matters so much: for many it isn't a bonus, but part of a balance sheet they can't otherwise close.

Still, the figure of two billion denars should be read soberly. Divided among 15,144 growers, it means the average tobacco farmer gets far less than the headline suggests. And here lies the eternal question of Macedonian tobacco growing: is state support a strategy for the future of this branch, or just an annual fire to be put out so the families who pick, generation after generation, a leaf the world is getting less and less used to don't revolt. The money has been paid - but whether tobacco has a future, or just a subsidy, remains open.