Provincial Tobacco Industry Strives to Develop High-Grade Cigarette Brands

Source from:  Xinhuanet.com 03/11/2007

The tobacco industry of southwest China's tobacco-producing Yunnan Province is striving to develop high-grade and luxurious cigarette brands and increase the competitiveness of its Grade One and Grade Two cigarette products, in efforts to significantly strengthen the capacity of the provincial tobacco industry. According to data released at the annual 2007 work conference of Yunnan Provincial China Tobacco Industry Corporation held recently, the tobacco industry of Yunnan in 2006 realized increases in cigarette production and sales and growth in economic efficiency over 2005, with the structure of its cigarette brands improving, with its cigarette inventories going down and with the market competitiveness of its major cigarette brands increasing. In 2006, the tobacco industry of Yunnan produced 324.05 billion cigarettes (6.481 million cases), an increase of 2.7 percent over 2005; and earned 57.308 billion yuan (7.2 billion U.S. dollars) in sales income, up 6.2 percent year-on-year, with the amount of taxes and profits generated by it reaching 42.132 billion (5.3 billion U.S. dollars), up 5.43 percent year-on-year. In an address to the tobacco work conference, General Manager Zhang Shuichang of Yunnan Provincial China Tobacco Industry Corporation said that strengthening of the competitiveness of high-grade cigarette brands and growth of cigarette sales is a key to sustainable development of the tobacco economy in Yunnan. As of 2007, the tobacco industry of Yunnan will give priority to the development of Yuxi and Yunyan as two leading Grade One cigarette brands, in order that the annual sales volume of Grade One cigarettes of both brands will rise by over 1.5 billion cigarettes (over 30,000 cases) annually; and that the annual sales volume of Grade One cigarettes of all its brands by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010) in Yunnan will go up by 6 billion cigarettes (120,000 cases) over 2006. Also as of 2007, the provincial tobacco industry will give priority to Mount Hongtashan, Hongyun and Honghe in the development of Grade Two cigarette brands, in order that the annual sales volume of Grade Two cigarettes of the three brands will rise by over 2 billion cigarettes (over 40,000 cases) annually; and that the annual sales volume of Grade Two cigarettes of all its brands by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010) in Yunnan will go up by 7.5 billion cigarettes (150,000 cases) over 2006. Enditem