Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/550304
32 tobaccoasia Workers of Guangcun Cigar Leaf Tobacco Growing Base dry leaf tobacco in a barn. Danzhou Guangcun Cigar Leaf Tobacco Growing Base has succeeded in developing more than 60 cigar leaf tobacco varieties suitable for growing in the province. Commenting on the success, Zhou Ruisheng, general manager of Hainan Jianheng Havana Ci- gar, said, "[The company] has spent 12 years mak- ing experiments across Hainan Island, specifically testing the soil and climate indexes in Danzhou City before deciding to establish the cigar leaf to- bacco production base at the Saodipo Area. [This] has led to the establishment of a new source of raw materials for fine and deep processing of ci- gars both in China and abroad." Large-scale growing of cigar leaf tobacco has been underway in Guangcun Township since 2010, with the acreage steadily increasing from 1,000 mu (66.7 ha) to 3,000 mu (200 ha) in 2013. The average unit output of cigar leaf tobacco has reached 120 tax revenues per mu (0.067 ha) and income from sales has reached CNY74.84 million yuan (CNY) or US$12.3 million. Conse- quently, each year, the business generates an aver- age of CNY14.97 million (US$2.45m) in taxes. Reports state that the growing period in the township is 170 days: 50 days for seedlings devel- opment; 60 days from field growth to picking in different stages; 30 days for preparation; and 30 days for fermentation. The average unit output of cigar leaf tobacco stands at 120 kg per mu (per 0.067 ha), or 1,800 kg per ha. In December 2012, the State Tobacco Mo- nopoly Administration (STMA) – the regulator of China's tobacco industry – approved a plan to build Hainan Danzhou Cigar Base into a "cigar leaf tobacco model growing base in China". The Hainan National Cigar Leaf Tobacco Model Growing Base Company (HNCL) is plan- ning to invest an extra CNY50 million (US$8.2m) in further development, of which CNY37.8 mil- lion yuan (US$6.2m) has been delivered. It is ex- pected that the cigar leaf tobacco acreage in this base will reach 5,000 mu (333 ha) by 2015, and 30,000 mu (2,000 ha) by 2017. Zhou Ruisheng explained three major reasons for choosing Danzhou as an area for growing ci- gar leaf tobacco. Firstly, cigar leaf tobacco growing requires a tropical climate. Judged by professional data, the best quality cigar leaf tobacco is gener- ally grown in a zone ranging from 18-20 degrees latitude. Danzhou is almost on the same latitude as the traditional major cigar leaf tobacco grow- ing region of Cuba. Moreover, the soil in Danzhou is volcanic ash, containing trace elements that are very favorable for cigar leaf tobacco growing. The second reason is that Danzhou has large areas of good farmland that satisfy the very high land requirement for cigar leaf tobacco growing. Guangcun Township's large plots of flat paddy fields are highly suitable for cigar leaf tobacco growing, as neither dry farmland nor fields on slopes are suitable for the crop. And thirdly, cigar making is a labor-intensive industry. More than 260 work processes are re- quired for making cigars, from growing to picking, selection, processing, fermentation and rolling. All require manual labor. As Danzhou is the most populous county-level city in Hainan Province, it is capable of meeting the supply of manpower re- quired of the cigar making industry. Chen Hanguang, a villager in Guangcun Township, told reporters he was earning some CNY4,000 (US$655) a year from growing crops other than tobacco. Since 2010, Chen has grown cigar leaf tobacco on 100 mu (6.7 ha) under annual contracts. Today, he collects rents from HNCL for using his farmland and earns wages from working in the cigar leaf tobacco growing base. Along with additional activities such as growing other crops and raising pigs, Chen has increased his income 25 times to CNY100,000 (US$16,390) each year. Sichuan international breakthrough Sichuan Province has also begun to explore local possibilities in the sector. In January 2011, Sichuan Provincial Tobacco Corporation (SPTC) signed an agreement on international cooperation in ci- gar leaf tobacco production technology with the CDF, the world's largest cigar leaf tobacco grower and dealer. Under the agreement, the CDF will supply SPTC with fine cigar leaf tobacco varieties and the relevant technologies for growing, preparation and fermentation. This will assist the latter in laying a solid technological foundation for producing raw materials of cigar leaf tobacco. Presently, more than 40 cigar leaf tobacco varieties are test-grown in experimental plots in Shifang. SPTC has also "The taskforce has applied for three patents for utility models and one patent for invention"