China: National leaf tobacco work conference held in Beijing

Source from:  Tobacco.gov.cn 11/11/2014

The 2014 annual national leaf tobacco work conference was held in Beijing on November 4, with the agenda focused on in-depth implementation of the spirit of the 10th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 3rd and 4th plenary sessions of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC, summarization of work, exchange of experience, analysis of the situation and planning for new tasks.

Director-General Ling Chengxing and Deputy Director-General Yang Peisen of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) attended the meeting and respectively delivered speeches.

In his speech, Ling Chengxing highly commented on the leaf tobacco work in 2014, pointing out that since the beginning of 2014, all units of the tobacco industry of China have remarkably fulfilled their annual working tasks of leaf tobacco production, with steady promotion of the level of development of modern tobacco agriculture, the level of leaf tobacco technology and quality, and the level of construction of infrastructure facilities of exclusive high-quality leaf tobacco production bases.

For the leaf tobacco work for the year 2015, Ling Chengxing put forward a package of three requirements:

Firstly, efforts should be made to keep well fulfilling the three-year task of regulation and control. The annual leaf tobacco production quotas for 2015 should be earmarked strictly in compliance with the guideline of "strictly controlling the total quantity of production quotas, rationally distributing resources of quotas, steadily optimizing the regional layout and striving to increase income from per unit yield. In the year 2015, the State will purchase 45 million dan (2.25 million tons) of leaf tobacco from the tobacco growers nationwide while the leaf tobacco acreage in China will be limited to 15.8 million mu (1.05 million hectares).

Secondly, efforts should be made to stabilize the relevant policies, to ensure steady development of leaf tobacco production. There should be adherence to taking the balance of demand for leaf tobacco and maintenance of interests of tobacco growers as a start point and basis for formulating leaf tobacco policies; and stabilizing policies on State leaf tobacco purchase pricing, policies on subsidies for input in leaf tobacco production, and policies on input in the construction of infrastructure facilities in tobacco fields.

And thirdly, efforts should be made to promote leaf tobacco production to higher levels, to keep promoting the raw materials supply guarantee capacity. Modernization of tobacco agriculture should be promoted to higher levels. Efforts should be focused on well managing construction of infrastructure facilities in tobacco fields, fostering of entities for tobacco growing and service provision, operation of pilot projects of mechanization in tobacco fields and construction of exclusive high-quality leaf tobacco production bases. Leaf tobacco technology and quality should both be promoted to higher levels. Greater importance should be attached to styles and characteristics of leaf tobacco products, scientific and technological progress, and the quality of leaf tobacco of all grades. Grassroots-level development of leaf tobacco should be promoted to higher levels. Continued efforts should be made to well manage grassroots-level development, consolidation of the basis, improvement of image, enhancement of quality and increase of vigor and vitality.

Ling Chengxing emphasized that great importance should be attached to the work of leaf tobacco threshing and redrying, and that breakthrough should be made in extension of the cycle of operation, promotion of equipment to higher levels and reduction of the cost of operation. Efforts should be made to promote processing technology, individualization of service and modernization of management; improve the quality of processing; save energy; reduce consumption; improve overall quality; and raise efficiency.

Also speaking at the meeting, Yang Peisen pointed out that in 2014, new promotion was realized in the various work of leaf tobacco production on the existing basis; the targets for regulation and control over the acreage of leaf tobacco were met; the development of modern tobacco agriculture was continuously promoted in an in-depth way; new steps were taken in the development of characteristic leaf tobacco products and construction of leaf tobacco redrying factories; and adherence to market orientation in leaf tobacco production and the capacity of development of service brands were both further strengthened.

At the meeting, representatives of the tobacco monopoly administrations (tobacco companies) in Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces in southwest China, Fujian Province in southeast China and Hunan Province in south central China, and China Tobacco Jiangsu Industrial Co., Ltd. in east China's Jiangsu Province delivered speeches on exchange of typical experience.

Attending the meeting were leaders of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and the relevant departments and units of the headquarters of China National Tobacco Corporation, leaders of the provincial-level tobacco monopoly administrations (tobacco companies) in all tobacco-producing regions, leaders of all provincial-level China Tobacco industrial companies, and leaders of the departments in charge of the work of leaf tobacco (raw materials) supply and construction of infrastructure facilities for leaf tobacco production. Enditem