India Tobacco Board Delegation Visits China's Tobacco-Producing Province

Source from:  TobaccoChina Online 09/07/2009

A high-level delegation from India Tobacco Board, lead by board chairman Suresh Babu, visited southwest China's tobacco-producing Yunnan Province on August 17-21, conducting talks with its Chinese hosts in a first ever meeting between the tobacco industry of India and the largest Chinese tobacco-producing region on possible cooperation between the two sides. During its stay in Yunnan, the Indian delegation visited Yunnan Provincial Tobacco Agriculture Research Institute, Yuxi City Tobacco Company's Aphidius Gifuensis Ashmead Breeding and Generalization Farm, Hongta Tobacco Group, and Lufeng County Modern Tobacco Agriculture Development Pilot Project. When visiting Hongta Group, Suresh Babu actively introduced India leaf tobacco to Director Xia Yuankai of Hongta Tobacco Group, saying that India leaf tobacco is very similar to Zimbabwe leaf tobacco, which is well marketed in China, that India leaf tobacco has been exported to more than 80 countries around the world, and that the tobacco industry of India wishes to export leaf tobacco to China. As India leaf tobacco is similar to China leaf tobacco in terms of aroma, the tobacco industry of China hopes that leaf tobacco produced in India can be chosen as part of the formula for making cigarettes by Hongta Tobacco Group, Suresh Babu said. Enditem