Chinese Province Bans Illegal Leaf Tobacco Trading in Harvest Season

Source from:  Heilongjiang TV 09/12/2006

Northeast China's fertile Heilongjiang Province is taking steps to strictly prohibit illegal trading in leaf tobacco during the current agricultural harvest season, which is often conducted outside the system of State-issued tobacco production quotas in violation of the Tobacco Monopoly Law. According to an order issued by the Provincial Tobacco Monopoly Administration, State leaf tobacco purchase in Heilongjiang Province in 2006 will be conducted strictly in accordance with the contracts signed with tobacco growers while no institution or individual may be allowed to trade leaf tobacco in excess of State-issued production quotas or in violation of contracts. Presently, China's tobacco industry is heavily burdened with excessive leaf tobacco inventories. The existing leaf tobacco in stocks is already enough for cigarette production by the tobacco industry for the next two and a half years. According to the relevant requirement of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration for leaf tobacco production reduction in China, the tobacco acreage in Heilongjiang Province has shrunk by 80,000 mu (5,333 hectares) so far this year. If Heilongjiang Province is found to have produced or sold leaf tobacco in excess of State-issued production quotas in 2006, the State will automatically cut down leaf tobacco production and marketing quotas for the province in 2007 in response, thus negatively impacting the long-term interests of tobacco growers in Heilongjiang, leaders with the Provincial Tobacco Monopoly Administration noted. Enditem