China: Provincial government makes arrangement for tobacco production in 2009

Source from:  Guizhou Daily newspaper 12/08/2008

The government of southwest China tobacco-producing Guizhou Province has recently issued a notice on tobacco production in the province in 2009, requiring all local regions and relevant government departments to practically change the mode of development, improve development quality and promote stable development of tobacco production, in order that all tobacco production targets for 2009 will be fully met. In 2009, Guizhou Province will purchase from the local tobacco growers 3.4337 million dan (321,685 tons) of leaf tobacco under annual production quotas issued by the State, with the proportion of medium- and high-grade leaf tobacco expected to reach 80 percent or higher, and with the general up-to-standard rate of all grades of leaf tobacco expected to reach 80 percent or higher. The average unit leaf tobacco yield in Guizhou in 2009 is expected to reach 130 kilograms per mu (mu 0.067 hectare) or higher, with the specific up-to-standard rate of all grades of leaf tobacco also expected to reach 80 percent or higher. In the year, support irrigation systems will be built for 1.2 million mu (80,000 hectares) of tobacco plantations across the province. The provincial government notice requires all cities, districts and prefectures in the province to strictly implement the government policy of supporting tobacco production, and assign leaf tobacco production tasks to local tobacco growers level by level strictly in line with the quantity of annual quotas issued to Guizhou for the year 2009, without exceeding the limitation of quotas. It also requires all local regions to manage to improve the overall quality of leaf tobacco and to strive to realize significant growth in the unit yield of leaf tobacco in the province in 2009. The notice emphasizes that local tobacco monopoly administrative authorities in the province should give priority to the development of high-quality leaf tobacco with local characteristics and the development of new tobacco-growing zones, in accordance with the policy of "close cooperation, strengthened leadership and stable development". Local tobacco monopoly administrative authorities need to seize the current favorable development opportunity in a timely manner, and accelerate the process of building infrastructure facilities for tobacco production in tobacco-growing zones by organically combining the construction of infrastructure facilities for tobacco production with the development of a socialist new countryside in the province, according to the notice. It also urges all local regions to strive to promote the development of a modern tobacco agriculture in an in-depth way, in line with the policy of reducing costs while increasing the unit yield. Enditem