Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2017
Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data [Line Items]
Income taxes									$ 41,188	$ 50,509	$ 56,732
Restructuring and impairment costs									(20,304)	0	(4,359)
Net income attributable to Universal Corporation	$ (31,361)	$ (28,135)	$ (31,446)	$ (13,179)	$ (30,518)	$ (45,400)	$ (26,167)	$ (3,577)	$ (104,121)	$ (105,662)	$ (106,304)
Diluted earnings per share	$ 1.24	$ 1.11	$ 1.24	$ 0.52	$ 1.20	$ 1.78	$ 1.02	$ 0.14	$ 4.11	$ 4.14	$ 0.88
Restructuring Costs and Asset Impairment Charges									$ (15,473)		$ (2,276)
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Tax Holiday, Amount									7,800
Tanzania
Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data [Line Items]
Net income attributable to Universal Corporation		$ 15,800
Diluted earnings per share		$ (0.62)
Restructuring Costs and Asset Impairment Charges		$ (19,400)
All Other Countries [Member]
Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data [Line Items]
Restructuring and impairment costs	$ (900)
Net income attributable to Universal Corporation	$ 600
Diluted earnings per share	$ (0.02)
Subsequent to Tax Cuts and Jobs Act [Member]
Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data [Line Items]
Income taxes					$ 4,500	$ 10,500			$ 4,500
Diluted earnings per share					$ (0.24)	$ 0.41
Income Tax Adjustments					$ (6,000)
Tax benefit - dividend tax reversal [Member]
Unaudited Quarterly Financial Data [Line Items]
Diluted earnings per share			$ 0.03	$ 0.27
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, Tax Holiday, Amount			$ 900	$ 6,900