China: City Tobacco Company Successful in Controlling Tobacco Output, Increasing Income

Source from:  Qujing City Tobacco Company 03/10/2015

Qujing City Tobacco Company in southwest China's tobacco-producing Yunnan Province was successful in controlling the output of leaf tobacco and cigarettes in the city while increasing the income of local tobacco growers in 2014, as a result of adoption of multiple approaches leading to realization of a win-win situation.

At the time of completion of the annual State purchase of a last batch of leaf tobacco from Qujing in October 2014, the quantity of leaf tobacco purchased by Qujing City Tobacco Company in 2014 was down from the level of the previous year by 335,800 dan (16,790 tons), while the income of the local tobacco growers reached a high of 5.886 billion yuan (965 million U.S. Dollars), up 5.2 percent year-on-year.

In 2014, in face of multiple challenges, Qujing City Tobacco Company gave priority to improving the quality of leaf tobacco, reforming the structure of tobacco varieties in growth, increasing the unit output of leaf tobacco and increasing the unit income from tobacco growing, with emphasis laid on strengthening the construction of infrastructure facilities for tobacco production, strengthening fine management of tobacco production, strengthening leaf tobacco purchase control, strengthening control over operation, etc, to promote the quality of leaf tobacco produced in the city to higher levels on a full scale, to increase the characteristics of leaf tobacco of Qujing, and to improve the image of leaf tobacco brands of Qujing.

"Although the acreage of tobacco has declined, our real income is higher than that of previous years," said Zhao Jianhua, a tobacco grower at the Pingpo Village in Xiaoxiang Sub-District. In 2013, Zhao Jianhua grew 9 mu (0.6 hectare) of tobacco, earning 30,000 yuan (4,918 U.S. Dollars) in income. In 2014, he grew 7.8 mu (0.52 hectare) of tobacco, earning 38,000 yuan (6,229 U.S. Dollars) in income, which came as a result of reduction of labor and labor intensity and improvement of the quality of leaf tobacco with assistance extended by the tobacco company.

"Realization of growth of income on the part of local tobacco growers has been a result of successful systemic transformation in development," said Wu Hongpo, chief of the Xiaoxiang Leaf Tobacco Station of Qilin County Tobacco Subcompany.

In the beginning of 2014, Qujing City Tobacco Company adopted a series of measures for promoting the quality of leaf tobacco and leaf tobacco production organization and management to higher levels, improving the image of the leaf tobacco brands of Qujing, promoting systemic transformation and development of the modern tobacco agriculture, and guaranteeing leaf tobacco production in the city. Enditem