China: Tobacco-growing Region Makes Great Progress in Developing Modern Tobacco Agriculture

01/12/2009

Southwest China's Guizhou Province - a key tobacco-growing region in China - made remarkable progress in its efforts develop a modern tobacco agriculture in 2008, with the annual volume of leaf tobacco sold to the State reaching a 10-year high, and with the annual income of farmers from tobacco growing going up obviously. In 2008, Guizhou Province sold to the State a record 7.22 million dan (361,000 tons) of leaf tobacco, an increase of 1.542 million dan (77,100 tons) over 2007, according to data released by Guizhou Provincial Tobacco Monopoly Administration. In the year, the tobacco growers in Guizhou Province earned a total of 5.115 billion yuan (730.7 million U.S. dollars) in income from tobacco growing, an increase of 2.254 billion yuan (322 million U.S. dollars) over 2007, with the average income per tobacco-growing farm household reaching 16,034 yuan (2,290 U.S. dollars), up 7,460 yuan (1,065.7 U.S. dollars) year-on-year. The data indicated that Guizhou Province generated a total of 1.073 billion yuan (153.3 million U.S. dollars) in annual taxes on leaf tobacco in 2008, a sharp increase of 443 million yuan (63.3 million U.S. dollars) year-on-year. The average unit leaf tobacco sales price in Guizhou in the year reached 678.2 yuan (96.9 U.S. dollars) per dan (per 50 kilograms), an increase of 173.2 yuan (25 U.S. dollars) per dan (per 50 kilograms) year-on-year. In 2008, the tobacco acreage in Guizhou reached a high of 2.9787 million mu (198,580 hectares). Over recent years, Guizhou has intensified efforts to develop a modern tobacco agriculture in the province, establishing a number of large tobacco-growing zones. So far, the large tobacco-growing zones established in the province have developed 5,551 major farm households specializing in tobacco growing, each with an average tobacco acreage of 30 mu (2 hectares) or more, and also 670 specialized tobacco farms each with an average tobacco acreage of 100 mu (6.67 hectares) or more. Besides, the large tobacco-growing zones have established five registered leaf tobacco cooperatives and 30 registered leaf tobacco processing workshops integrating the harvest, curing, classification and marketing of leaf tobacco. They have also developed 6,588 farm households specializing in developing tobacco seedlings, and 63 mechanized farming teams for tobacco production. The large tobacco-growing zones have introduced the system of toll-free telephone service, the system of online special meteorological service for leaf tobacco production, etc. Enditem