Leaf Tobacco Harvested in Kingdom of Tobacco Reaches Record High

Source from:  Yunnan Daily newspaper 12/10/2007

Southwest China's Yunnan Province - the largest tobacco-producing region in China known as the kingdom of tobacco - harvested a record 15.05 million dan (752,500 tons) of flue-cured tobacco in 2007, an increase of 2.43 million dan (121,500 tons) over 2002, or an annual average growth of 5.4 percent, with the turnover reaching a record high of 9.09 billion yuan (1.212 billion U.S. dollars) including government subsidies, and with the average amount of income from tobacco growing reaching 5,926 yuan (790 U.S. dollars) per tobacco-growing farm household. In 2007, the amount of taxes generated from the State purchase of leaf tobacco in Yunnan reached 1.97 billion yuan (262 million U.S. dollars). In 2005, Yunnan launched a campaign to strengthen the construction of infrastructure facilities for basic tobacco-growing farmland in the province. Since then, a total of 4.58 billion yuan (610 million U.S. dollars) has been invested in infrastructure facilities construction there, building 590,000 irrigation facilities for tobacco-growing farmland to the tune of 4.97 million mu (331,330 hectares), benefiting 1.44 million tobacco-growing farm households, and also building 133,000 leaf tobacco curing and treating facilities. The construction of infrastructure facilities for tobacco-growing farmland has contributed to improving conditions for leaf tobacco production and increasing economic efficiency from tobacco growing. Results of a recent survey conducted by the government of the Chuxiong Ethnic Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan indicate that the construction of irrigation facilities for tobacco-growing farmland in the prefecture has contributed to saving labor by an average rate of three farm workers per mu (per 0.067 hectare), and solving the problem of drinking water shortage for both people and domestic animals. The unit leaf tobacco yield in Yunnan has grown to a high of 140.3 kilograms per mu (per 0.067 hectare) in 2007 from the level of 121.8 kilograms per mu (per 0.067 hectare) in 2002, up 15.2 percent, and the amount of earnings from tobacco growing in the province has grown by an average of 416 yuan (55.4 U.S. dollars) per mu (per 0.067 hectare). Meanwhile, the average leaf tobacco sales price in Yunnan has grown to 11.89 yuan (1.58 U.S. dollars) per kilograms in 2007 from the level of 10.28 yuan (1.37 U.S. dollars) per kilograms in 2002, up 15.7 percent. In 2007, Yunnan also harvested 225,400 dan (11,270 tons) of Oriental tobacco and 60,000 dan (3,000 tons) of burley, with the turnover reaching 148 million yuan (19.7 million U.S. dollars), and with the amount of taxes generated in the State purchase of the Oriental tobacco and burley reaching 32 million yuan (4.2 million U.S. dollars). So far, Yunnan has become the largest Oriental tobacco growing region in China, with both production and marketing developing in a favorable trend. Enditem