<strong>China Develops Leaf Tobacco with Different Types of Aroma</strong>

Source from:  TobaccoChina Online  03/05/2013

Major tobacco-producing regions in China, in efforts to meet the differentiated demand of tobacco manufacturing enterprises for making characteristic cigarette products, has been striving to develop leaf tobacco with different types of aroma over the past few years.

In China, there are a number of vast tobacco-producing regions, each with different natural conditions including climate and soil characteristics. Therefore, the different tobacco-producing regions are capable of producing leaf tobacco with characteristics of different types of aroma, and are capable of supplying different raw materials for producing cigarettes of different aroma types, which makes characteristics of the different varieties of leaf tobacco and different types of cigarettes outstanding, and which makes it possible to supply consumers with satisfactory products.

Yunnan develops mild aromatic leaf tobacco

Southwest China's Yunnan Province – the largest tobacco-producing region in China known as the kingdom of tobacco – has chosen to mainly focus its energy on developing and producing "mild aromatic characteristic high-quality leaf tobacco", with different areas having different priorities. Specifically, Dali Prefecture gives priority to developing and producing a characteristic high-quality leaf tobacco product with the brand name of "Red Flower Big Gold Coin". So far, the annual output of "Red Flower Big Gold Coin" has topped 1 million dan (50,000 tons). Dali Prefecture has therefore emerged as the largest base for producing "Red Flower Big Gold Coin" in China. Lincang City gives priority to developing and producing a "fresh, sweet, aromatic and smooth" type of leaf tobacco. Dehong Prefecture gives priority to producing Zimbabwe-style leaf tobacco. Baoshan City gives priority to developing and producing natural aromatic leaf tobacco while Wenshan City gives priority to producing highly aromatic leaf tobacco.

For "Red Flower Big Gold Coin" of Dali, it is of a clear level of sweet aroma, which is fine, mild, lingering and fair, enabling it to become a typical representative of the mild aromatic type of flue-cured tobacco. In 2009, the major exclusive project of "development of high-quality leaf tobacco with local characteristics of Dali" approved and registered by China National Tobacco Corporation was kicked off. This major exclusive research and development project was executed by Dali Prefecture Tobacco Company in cooperation with five research institutions – Hunan Agricultural University, Qingzhou Tobacco Research Institute, Yunnan University, Yunnan Provincial Tobacco Research Institute and Yunnan Reascend Tobacco Technology Group Co., Ltd. – and six tobacco manufacturing enterprises – China Tobacco Hunan Industrial Co., Ltd. (CTHIC), Hongta Group, HongyunHonghe Tobacco Group, China Tobacco Jiangsu Industrial Co., Ltd., China Tobacco Zhejiang Industrial Co., Ltd. and China Tobacco Chuanyu Industrial Co., Ltd. In July 2011, the project passed stringent appraisal by a panel of experts. Dali mainly dedicates itself to supplying high-quality leaf tobacco for cigarette brands of Hongta Group.

After realizing standardized production of "Red Flower Big Gold Coin" with designated brands, Dali now focuses its energy on developing "green" and ecological products of "Red Flower Big Gold Coin". In particular, the prefecture has striven to establish pollution-free high-quality leaf tobacco production bases; has actively launched research, development, promotion and application of technologies for promoting decomposition with farmyard manure, developing bio-fertilizer, organic fertilizer, "green" leaf tobacco and organic leaf tobacco, and biological prevention and control of pests and plant diseases; and has actively launched reform of old tobacco-producing areas, etc, making remarkable successes.

Located in southwestern Yunnan, Lincang City is a fine tobacco-producing area with altitudes ranging between 1,400 meters and 1,800 meters. It grows tobacco of the K326 and Yunyan 87 varieties, and produces high-quality leaf tobacco with styles and characteristics of the "fresh, sweet, aromatic and smooth" type. In producing leaf tobacco, Lincang City Tobacco Monopoly Administration, which doubles as Lincang City Tobacco Subcompany, massively uses farmyard manure and organic fertilizer, promotes application of the technology of using aphidius gifuensis ashmead to prevent and control pests on a full scale, and makes a use of yellow-blue plates, lights, sex attractants, etc to kill pests, in order to minimize negative impacts on the natural environment from the use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides, and guarantee the ecological nature and safety of leaf tobacco products.

Located in the westernmost part of the ecological characteristic tobacco-producing zone in the Golden Corridor in Yunnan, Dehong Prefecture gives priority to producing high-quality Zimbabwe-style leaf tobacco. Dehong is extremely similar to Zimbabwe – one of the world's famous traditional high-quality leaf tobacco producing regions – in terms of core indexes of the natural environment including geographical latitudes, conditions of sub-acidity sandy loam soil, earth resources, conditions of heat of tobacco fields during the period of growth, precipitation and sunshine duration. On the basis of experimental research and demonstrative production of tobacco of many varieties in many areas, Dehong has succeeded in test-growing and developing Zimbabwe-style leaf tobacco, with its leaf tobacco products bearing basic characteristics of high-quality leaf tobacco imported from Zimbabwe. So far, some leaf tobacco products of Dehong have become substitutes for leaf tobacco imports from Zimbabwe and have entered the main formula of cigarettes of high-end brands, with vast market development potential.

In Tengchong County of Baoshan City in Yunnan, there is a high-quality leaf tobacco producing area, known as the Gaoligong Mountain Green and Ecological High-Quality Leaf Tobacco Production and Demonstration Area. The leaf tobacco produced by this area is of natural strong fragrance and natural tobacco aroma.

For Wenshan City, it is yet another favorable tobacco-producing area in Yunnan with the northern tropic running through it. The leaf tobacco produced in Wenshan generally belongs to highly aromatic leaf tobacco with maintenance of the nature of freshness and aromatics characteristic of leaf tobacco produced in Yunnan. Leaf tobacco produced in Wenshan has always been a major raw material for making cigarettes of high-end brands with blending of flavors and aromas.

Besides a clear-cut strategy to develop and produce leaf tobacco of different aroma types, Yunnan also dedicates itself to producing "green" and ecological leaf tobacco, which has been widely welcomed by all provincial-level Tobacco Industrial Corporations. For example, commenting on leaf tobacco products of Tengchong, the director in charge of leaf tobacco quality and formulas with the Technology Center of CTHIC said: "In 2001, CTHIC purchased a total of 20,000 dan (1,000 tons) of leaf tobacco from Tengchong. But now, because of the aromatics, fineness and sweetness of leaf tobacco produced in Tengchong, CTHIC annually purchases 140,000 dan to 150,000 dan (7,000 tons to 7,500 tons) of leaf tobacco from Tengchong. In particular, leaf tobacco from Tengchong is even more applicable in the production of cigarettes of the famous Furongwang brand, and supports the pricing of this brand. As far as the characteristics of leaf tobacco from Tengchong are concerned, leaf tobacco from Tengchong well meets the requirement of Furongwang in terms of its yellow color, aromatics and softness, and meets its demand for further development."

Besides, Wenshan City has established a total of 24 units of exclusive high-quality leaf tobacco production and supply bases in cooperation with famous Chinese- or foreign-funded tobacco manufacturing enterprises based in Shanghai, Hunan, Guangdong, Anhui, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangxi, Hubei and other Chinese regions. Annually, these units produce 1.2 million dan (60,000 tons) of high-quality leaf tobacco as raw materials for the relevant tobacco manufacturing enterprises to make cigarettes of competitive brands.

Different regions different aroma types

The second largest tobacco-producing region in China is Guizhou Province in southwest China. With remarkable regional advantages and stability of the ecological system, Guizhou is a typical representative region for growing the medium aromatic type of leaf tobacco. Over recent years, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) – the regulator of China's tobacco industry – has strengthened efforts for developing products of the medium aromatic type of leaf tobacco, bringing the fertile Wujiang River Valley in Guizhou into the scope of a designated area for developing high-quality characteristic medium aromatic leaf tobacco products. In exploring ways of developing and growing characteristic leaf tobacco products in highland mountainous areas, Guizhou Provincial Tobacco Monopoly Administration (GPTMA), which doubles as Guizhou Provincial Tobacco Corporation, has increased investment in developing and producing products of the medium aromatic type of leaf tobacco. In this endeavor, the provincial administration has taken steps to make full-scale promotion by giving priority to the research and development of applicable growing technologies, selectively developing characteristic varieties, etc, gradually forming a number of medium aromatic leaf tobacco products with local characteristics of Guizhou, including "Mountainous Mellow, Sweet and Aromatic" tobacco and "Mountainous Fresh, Sweet and Aromatic" tobacco. These products have become increasingly irreplaceable in the formula for cigarette production by the local tobacco industry. Medium aromatic leaf tobacco products of Guizhou have been increasingly recognized by manufacturers of big cigarette brands, which has been directly manifested in the establishment and promotion of units of exclusive high-quality leaf tobacco production and supply bases in the province. In 2010, almost each of the big cigarette brands in China established a corresponding exclusive base in Guizhou. As a result, there have been 18 exclusive high-quality leaf tobacco production and supply bases established in Guizhou for big cigarette brands. Tobacco manufacturing enterprises in Shanghai, Yunnan, Hunan and other regions have all established their own exclusive bases or unveiled plans to establish exclusive bases in Guizhou. In 2011 and 2012, more and more tobacco manufacturing enterprises launched projects to establish exclusive bases in the province.

In efforts to improve the quality of leaf tobacco, GPTMA has in reality established a 15-million-yuan (2.38-million-U.S. dollar) "Guizhou Provincial Tobacco Science and Technology Joint Exclusive Foundation" in cooperation with Guizhou Provincial Administration of Science and Technology, which is particularly intended to fund projects of selective development of new tobacco varieties, characteristic tobacco varieties, technologies for balanced application of fertilizer in tobacco production and other related projects, and also to upgrade the relevant projects onto provincial-level projects of scientific-technological development. Besides, the administration has established a tobacco soil remediation technology and engineering center in cooperation with Nanjing Agricultural University; has established a number of raw materials research laboratories and joint laboratories in cooperation with Shanghai Tobacco Group, CTHIC and other enterprises; has signed framework agreements on scientific-technological cooperation with China Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Henan Agricultural University; and has signed cooperation agreements and has established mechanisms for regular exchange and cooperation with North Carolina State University of United States, etc.

According to the development planning of GPTMA for the 2011-2015 five-year period, the number of units of exclusive high-quality leaf tobacco production and supply bases in Guizhou will have grown to more than 160 by the end of 2015, with investment in each of the units to reach 100 million yuan (15.9 million U.S. dollars). By then, operation of such units will have become a principal model of organization of leaf tobacco production by the tobacco industry, and the momentum of development and production of characteristic leaf tobacco products of Guizhou will have turned more robust.

The third largest tobacco-producing region in China is Sichuan Province in southwest China. For the tobacco industry of Sichuan, it has chosen to develop the "fresh, sweet and aromatic type" of leaf tobacco. Leaf tobacco produced in Liangshan Prefecture in Sichuan has entered the principal formulas for producing cigarettes of such well-known high-end brands as Chunghwa, Furongwang, Liqun, Pride, the Yellow Crane Tower and Double Happiness of Guangdong, as a result of its natural freshness, strong sweetness, sufficient aroma, smoothness and comfortableness. Because of the high quality of leaf tobacco produced locally, the tobacco monopoly administration of Liangshan has set ambitious targets for the development of the local tobacco industry: By 2015, the acreage of basic tobacco fields in the prefecture will have grown to 4 million mu (266,667 hectares); the number of brands-oriented units of exclusive high-quality leaf tobacco production and supply bases in the prefecture will have reached 80; the annual capacity of Liangshan to produce and supply high-quality characteristic leaf tobacco will have reached over 4 million dan (200,000 tons); and national-level major strategic high-quality leaf tobacco production bases and core raw materials supply bases for national-level well-known high-end cigarette brands will have been established in Liangshan on a full scale.

Shaanxi Province in northwest China – also a major tobacco-producing region in the country – has chosen to develop and produce naturally aromatic leaf tobacco. Over recent years, the tobacco industry of Shaanxi has launched projects of development of high-quality leaf tobacco in its Qinling mountainous area with local styles and characteristics. Through the establishment of characteristic and high-quality production demonstration projects, pilot projects of the establishment of a modern tobacco agriculture, standardization demonstration platforms, etc, the provincial tobacco industry has succeeded in integrating a large quantity of advanced and mature tobacco production technologies. With the radiation role of these technologies, Shaanxi Province has formed a Qinling mountainous zone for the production of characteristic high-quality leaf tobacco, represented by such big competitive brands as Mountainous Area Gold of Ankang Prefecture, Hanjiang River Origin of Hanzhong Prefecture and Mount Yunmengshan of Shangluo Prefecture.

Luonan County in Shaanxi Province is home to the exclusive high-quality leaf tobacco production and supply bases for such big competitive cigarette brands as Baisha of CTHIC in south central China's Hunan Province and The Good Cat of China Tobacco Shaanxi Industrial Co., Ltd. in Shaanxi. In 2012, Shaanxi Province will complete the establishment of exclusive bases for the production and supply high-quality leaf tobacco "with natural aroma of Qinling mountainous area" for a number of other big competitive cigarette brands including The Red Double Happiness of China Tobacco Guangdong Industrial Co., Ltd. in south China's Guangdong Province, Chunghwa of Shanghai Tobacco Group and the Yellow Crane Tower of China Tobacco Hubei Industrial Co., Ltd., which will in turn contribute to laying a solid foundation for favorable development of characteristic high-quality leaf tobacco of Shaanxi.

Besides, other tobacco-producing regions in China have all made their choices in developing and producing leaf tobacco with local characteristics. For example, central China's Henan Province has chosen to develop and produce the "highly aromatic type of characteristic high-quality leaf tobacco" while east China's Shandong Province has chosen to develop and produce "Chinese-style highly aromatic" leaf tobacco.

The development and production of leaf tobacco of different aroma types has provided a powerful guarantee for the supply of raw materials for manufacturing cigarettes of different aroma types, which is just in satisfaction of the demand of consumers to seek differences and uniqueness in cigarette smoking, and which is just in conformity with the trend of growing demand for the supply of tobacco products of various aroma types. The development and production of leaf tobacco of different aroma types in China will definitely have broader marketing prospects in future. Enditem