Tobacco-Growing Region to Step Up Support for Leaf Tobacco Production

Source from:  Zhengzhou City 10/31/2005

The State-run tobacco company in Zhengzhou City of Henan Province - a major tobacco-growing region in central China - will take steps to further strengthen support for leaf tobacco production in the city in 2006, in efforts to stabilize the scope of tobacco growing and upgrade leaf tobacco production there. In 2006, Zhengzhou City Tobacco Company will increase its unit investment in leaf tobacco production in the city to a high of some 300 yuan (37 U.S. dollars) per mu (per 0.067 hectare), from the level of 200 yuan (25 U.S. dollars) per mu (per 0.067 hectare) in 2005. The investment will be used for stabilizing the acreage of tobacco growing, intensive development of tobacco seedlings, the purchase of material supplies for leaf tobacco production, etc. In efforts to encourage tobacco production in China, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) will invest a total of 14 billion yuan (1.72 billion U.S. dollars) in subsidies for the construction of infrastructure facilities for tobacco production nationwide over the next three to five years. The construction of infrastructure facilities for tobacco production in China in this period will mainly be focused on developing basic tobacco plantations and building irrigation systems for tobacco plantations and intensive curing barns. The STMA has decided to increase investment in constructing infrastructure facilities for basic tobacco plantations across the country as of 2005. The tobacco monopoly administrations of the relevant regions at the provincial level or lower will offer the same amount of investment as the STMA in this respect. Meanwhile, the tobacco growers and local governments concerned will only assume 30 percent of the total cost of constructing infrastructure facilities for basic tobacco plantations in their respective regions. In response, Zhengzhou City Tobacco Company will manage to strengthen support for the construction of infrastructure facilities for tobacco plantations in the city and make a best use of investment from the STMA in 2006, in order to give full play to the role of the relevant infrastructure facilities in sustainable development of leaf tobacco production in the city. It will also strengthen efforts to publicize the policy of supporting leaf tobacco production, in order that all walks of life in the city will better understand the policy, that it will be well implemented and that its implementation will be put under strict supervision. Enditem