Tobacco Contracting for Leaf Growers Down in Va. And U.S.

Source from:  Richmond Times-Dispatch 06/13/2010

DANVILLE Tobacco contracting for leaf growers is down statewide and nationwide. "There's no doubt the amount contracted for has been reduced," said D. Stanley Duffer, marketing specialist with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates the number of acres of flue-cured tobacco planted in Virginia this year is 16,000, down from 17,500 estimated acres in 2009. That's a 9 percent decline. Overall in the United States, the crop estimates were 224,000 acres in 2009 and 207,000 acres this year, an 8 percent decline. Flue-cured tobacco is grown in Southside Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. It's hard to tell how individual growers fared. Some don't have a contract at all compared with last year, while others may have seen a reduction or no cutback in the amount of tobacco contracted, Duffer said. The decline in planted acres of flue-cured tobacco follows domestic cigarette consumption, which declined 8 percent from 2008 to 2009. The decline stems from increasing federal and state taxes on cigarettes and restrictions, such as recently implemented restaurant smoking bans in both Virginia and North Carolina, Duffer added. Pittsylvania County is on par with the past few years in the amount of flue-cured tobacco planted, which hovers around the 5,000-acre mark, said Stephen Barts, Pittsylvania County extension agent. Most of that tobacco is being grown under contract, he said. While individual producers may have lost volume with one company, they may have been able to gain back some with another company. "We as a region on a per-acreage basis are going to be fairly stable," Barts said. "We may see a bit of a increase, we'll see." Barts attributes it to the experience of local farmers and the region's soil type and climate that produce a desired tobacco leaf, which is part of the tobacco blend for cigarettes. The opening of two more tobacco-receiving stations in Danville this year may have helped local farmers. Philip Morris USA continues having a receiving station in Danville. The JTI Leaf Services LLC facility in Riverview Industrial Park will begin receiving tobacco this fall. JTI Leaf Services in Danville is Japan Tobacco International's regional headquarters for leaf procurement. JTI is a division of Japan Tobacco Inc. -- the world's third largest tobacco company. The U.S. Tobacco Cooperative, based in Raleigh, N.C, will use the former Dimon facility on Kentuck Road as a receiving station or "marketing center" this year, said Mike Parker, manager of public and member relations. The cooperative is consolidating into a centralized location in Danville after closing marketing centers in South Hill and Rural Hall, N.C. Clarence Emerson of Emerson Road Farms in Dry Fork grows about 100 acres of tobacco, which he will sell to Bailey's Cigarettes in Clarksville. His contracts have remained steady. He attributes the stability of local contracting to the flavor and smoking characteristics of the region's tobacco. "This old red land right here grows quality tobacco," he said. Enditem