Phillipines: Tobacco Output Down 14.53% in Crop Year 2011-2012

Source from:  Business Mirror 07/26/2012

THE country's tobacco production went down by 14.53 percent to 68.2 million kilograms for crop year 2011-2012, from the 79.8 million kilos posted a year ago, the National Tobacco Administration (NTA), said. NTA Administrator Edgardo D. Zaragoza pointed to bad weather as the reason behind the decline in output for the previous crop year. The attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the crop year for tobacco starts in October and ends in May. "The storm in December as well as rains in other parts of tobacco-producing areas in the country caused the decline in production. Also, there was a reduction in areas planted to tobacco," said Zaragoza in an interview. The average buying price for locally produced tobacco leaves reached P77 per kilo, from the P73 per kilo registered a year ago. "Farmers are satisfied with the current buying price," said Zaragoza. He, however, could not say whether output for the next crop year will recover or continuously decline as planting for tobacco will start in October or November. Peak harvest for tobacco is in February or March. Earlier, the NTA said the volume of tobacco produced in crop year 2010 totalled 73.756 million kilograms, which showed a 126-percent increase compared to the 2009 volume of 58.571 million kilograms. In terms of value, this is equivalent to a 120-percent increase, to P4.85 billion in 2010, from P4.02 billion in 2009. Of these figures, Zaragoza said tobacco farmers have contributed over P34 billion in taxes to the government, with tobacco traders and cigarette manufacturers contributing about 4 percent to revenues being collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. While there is a worldwide glut for tobacco and tobacco products, the NTA chief noted that the demand for Philippine tobacco continues to increase because of its high quality. He said over 50 percent of the country’s tobacco production are being exported directly, with most of the remainder still being exported by traders individually. The world’s largest cigarette manufacturer, Phillip Morris, and the world’s largest tobacco dealer, Universal Leaf, believe the country’s tobacco market will continue to be viable in the next five years, Zaragoza said. Enditem