Joint Venture Successful in Producing Maryland Tobacco

Source from:  Yichang City 04/02/2006

A big Maryland tobacco production and supply base jointly operated by Beijing Cigarette Factory and Yichang City Tobacco Company in central China's Hubei Province has been successful in producing Maryland tobacco over the past few years, with Maryland tobacco produced in it becoming a major raw material for Beijing Cigarette Factory to produce its representative Zhongnanhai brand blend-type cigarettes. Maryland tobacco is a type of light color air-cured tobacco, which is a fine raw material for producing low-tar-level safety cigarettes. In 1981, test-growing of Maryland tobacco in Yichang turned out to be a great success, and the growing of Maryland tobacco has been generalized in Yichang since. [img border=0 hspace="4" vspace="4" align="left" src=http://www.tobaccochina.com/english/picture/ImageLink12.jpg] Wufeng County in Yichang City has become the only major Maryland tobacco growing region in China. Maryland tobacco grown in Wufeng County is of the characteristics of being well aromatic and tasteful in flavor, with good burning property, flexibility and filling property. In 2000, Beijing Cigarette Factory cooperated with Yichang City Tobacco Company in jointly establishing and operating a Maryland tobacco production and supply base in Wufeng County. Maryland tobacco grown in the base has since become a major raw material for Beijing Cigarette Factory to produce its representative Zhongnanhai brand blend-type cigarettes. Over recent years, the two sides have well cooperated with each other in jointly operating the Maryland tobacco production and supply base. Annually, Beijing Cigarette Factory pays 6 million yuan (739,800 U.S. dollars) as investment in research and development and as deposit for the supply of Maryland tobacco from the base, contributing to supporting the development of the Maryland tobacco production and supply base. The two sides have formulated the Standards for Appraisal of the Maryland Tobacco Production and Supply Base of Beijing Cigarette Factory, which provides for offering higher prices for the supply of high-quality Maryland tobacco grown in the base. Over recent years, Beijing Cigarette Factory and Yichang City Tobacco Company have cooperated with Zhengzhou Tobacco Research Institute in north China's Henan Province and Qingzhou Tobacco Research Institute in east China's Shandong Province in jointly striving to solve difficult technical problems in Maryland tobacco production at the base. They also regularly hold talks on solution to difficulties and technical problems facing the base. In 2005, the base produced 27,500 dan (1,375 tons) of Maryland tobacco for supply to Beijing Cigarette Factory, with stable and higher quality, contributing to guaranteeing the supply of high-quality raw material for cigarette production at Beijing Cigarette Factory. On March 21, 2006, Beijing Cigarette Factory held a first working session on formulation of sample technical standards governing the production of Maryland tobacco at the base. Experts with Hubei Provincial China Tobacco Industry Corporation, Yichang City Tobacco Company, Shanghai Tobacco Group, Beijing Cigarette Factory, China National Tobacco Physiological and Biochemical Research Base and other institutions invited to the meeting carefully reviewed the sample technical standards formulated before adopting them as a first set of local sample technical standards governing Maryland tobacco production in China. This development signifies that Beijing Cigarette Factory and Yichang City Tobacco Company have reached consensus on the formulation of local technical standards for Maryland tobacco production, which will be conducive to raising the industrial usability of Maryland tobacco grown in the base, and which will be conducive to the organization of Maryland tobacco growing by local farmers. Gao Daode, Manager with Yichang City Tobacco Company, said recently that in 2006, the tobacco company would take steps to strengthen management over Maryland tobacco production at the base, increase investment in the construction of infrastructure facilities at it, better regulate the selection of varieties of Maryland tobacco for growing, and better plan the acreage of Maryland tobacco growing and organize production in accordance with the newly formulated sample technical standards. Enditem