China: Guizhou Province Held Meeting on Leaf Tobacco Purchasing

Source from:  TobaccoChina Online  08/16/2012

Guizhou Province held meeting on leaf tobacco purchasing in Guiyang on August 9. In the meeting, participants summed up leaf tobacco production working in prior phase, and arranged leaf tobacco purchasing working of this year. Vice-governor Lu Zhiming attended the meeting and gave a speech. In this year, Guizhou Province plans to purchase 7.5 billion dan (375000 tons) leaf tobacco, of which upper and middle leaf tobacco account to 94 percent. Lu pointed out that in the first half year 2012, tobacco farmers of Guizhou transplanted 3.561 Million mu (237,400 hectares) leaf tobacco. But tobacco production has suffered some uncertainty in recent times because of heavy rain in many places and hailstone, flooding and pests in several growing-areas. All the related departments should provide good services for tobacco farmers. Lu stressed that State Tobacco Monopoly Administration has increased tobacco-growing area of Guizhou to 9 million mu (0.6 million hectares), except current 5.4 million mu (0.36 million hectares) tobacco field, Guizhou needs to establish tobacco field facilities for 3.6 million mu (0.24 million hectares) during 12th five-year period. 50 new water-resource programme, and 40,000 hectares field prepare working will be finished in this period. He also said that Guizhou has provided Virginia tobacco planting insurance for tobacco farmers. In 2012, the Virginia tobacco planting insurance will cover 22 counties, and in 2013, it will expand to all over the province. The cost will be shared by county governments, leaf tobacco department, tobacco farmers, and they will pay 30%, 50% and 20% of the total cost respectively. The insurance cost for each mu is 24 RMB yuan. Tobacco farmers can get compensation when their leaf tobacco damaged by heavy rains, flooding, storm wind, hailstone, freeze, drought and frost disasters. Enditem