Leaf perspectives

29 Jun 2017. Tobacco played a role in early state building and taxes from it were the foundation of many modern fiscal systems. It could do even more today, writes António Abrunhosa of the International Tobacco Growers Association, if conditions allowed.
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Making the switch

29 Jun 2017. For more than four centuries, Maryland tobacco drew praise for its thin leaves and distinctive flavour. But production has all but ceased under a state programme begun in 2001 that offers practical lessons to stakeholders in WHO’s global drive to wean growers off leaf.
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Zimbabwe volume up prices down

29 Jun 2017. Scores of Zimbabwean small farmers have pulled FCV production back to within reaching distance of the record 236 million kg sold in 2000. Volumes are up and reports of leaf quality also give reason for optimism. But prices have fallen short of farmers’ expectations.
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US burley growers face oversupply

29 Jun 2017. As spring flowers bloom and soil is turned over in the fields, US tobacco farmers are gearing up for a new crop year. Burley growers are either transplanting or preparing their fields for planting and after a challenging 2016, they are full of optimism. Yet, according to those in the know, 2017 may prove another difficult year.
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Tobacco bond blues

29 Jun 2017. Tobacco has earned Zimbabwe foreign exchange for decades despite massive disruptions in the early 2000s when white farmers were disenfranchised. This year’s problems centre on the “tobacco” bonds for cash plan introduced by the central bank last November.
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