Regional Tobacco Industry Seeks Development Through Brands Expansion

Source from:  Westen Fujian Daily newspaper 01/14/2008

The tobacco industry of Longyan City in southeast China's Fujian Province seeks business development through the expansion of competitive product brands, with its grass output value generated in 2007 expected to reach 7.285 billion yuan (1 billion U.S. dollars), an anticipated increase of 24.5 percent over the level of 5.85 billion yuan (803 million U.S. dollars) in 2006. Presently, the tobacco industry of Longyan City mainly comprises Longyan Cigarette Factory, Fujian Sanhua Color Printing Co., Ltd., Fujian Red Wolves Industries Co., Ltd., Longyan Golden Leaf Redrying Co., Ltd., etc. As the pillar of the regional tobacco industry, Longyan Cigarette Factory - a key tobacco manufacturing enterprise designated by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration - boasts first-rate and internationally advanced leaf tobacco cutting lines and a technical center which is ranked among the top-level technical centers of China's tobacco industry. On November 18, 2007, a process was started to make large-scale technical transformation of the special lines exclusively for producing the Seven Wolves brand cigarettes, with the total investment expected to reach 1 billion yuan (137 million U.S. dollars), and with their annual cigarette production capacity expected to top 20 billion superior-class Seven Wolves brand cigarettes (400,000 cases). The tobacco industry of Longyan is planning to drive up its annual output value in 2008 to a high of 8.018 billion yuan (1.1 billion U.S. dollars), an anticipated increase of 10.06 percent over 2007. In an effort to attain this target, the tobacco industry of Longyan is striving to well accomplish the project of large-scale technical transformation of the special production lines for the Seven Wolves; cooperate with Fujian Provincial China Tobacco Industry Corporation in developing markets and promoting sales in other Chinese regions; turn the Seven Wolves into a national-level cigarette brand from a regional one; well make preparations for launching a joint venture with Philip Morris in cigarette production; and further promote its manufacturing technology, management and quality control to a higher level. Enditem