Tobacco Asia

54 tobaccoasia LEAF NEWS 烟叶新闻 Star Agritech Increases Its Reach In Africa Global tobacco leaf and agro commodities company, Star Agritech International, continues its worldwide expansion with the opening of its latest depot in Tema, Ghana. The newly established depot will serve West African customers. The new depot has a capacity to store up to one million tons of various tobaccos and tobacco derivatives. Using fit-for-purpose equipment along with highly-skilled and unskilled labor within a defined space, Star's depot operates for bagged and packaged cargo. Additionally, with access to the African belt and sea roads, Star's goods can move through this facility and reach the world's multi-fulfillment centers quickly and cost effectively while ensuring timely delivery. Tobaccos will be stored to the highest industry standards including constant monitoring and regular fumigation Dr. Iqbal Lambat, president and c.e.o. of Star Agritech International, commented, "The newly opened depot in Ghana will help to support the continuing growth of our sales and logistics service, with the expanded site reinforcing our presence in Africa." KT&G Employees Pitch in to Help Farmers KT&G c.e.o. Baek Bok-in led company employees in a tobacco planting volunteer activity in Mun'gyeong, Gyeong- sangbuk-do to assist the stable cultivation of tobacco farmers. About 30 employees from the raw materials department and Gimcheon plant visited a tobacco farm in Nong'am-myeon, Mun'gyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, moved seedlings at the farm of about 10,000 sq.m., and planted about 20,000 seedlings. Leaf tobacco farming involves a process of growing seedlings at a nursery and transplanting them, instead of sowing seeds in the field. The seedling transplantation particu- larly is an important task, which determines the productivity of leaf tobacco farming. In response, KT&G has been volunteer- ing for tobacco farmers for 17 years since 2007 to help farmers who are having difficulties recruiting workers and to pass on the advanced leaf tobacco production technology. In addition, during the midsummer tobacco harvesting season, which requires a lot of work, KT&G employees also engage in volunteer activities for shared growth with farmers throughout the year. Kim Jeong-ho, the director of the raw materials depart- ment, said, "KT&G engages in employee volunteer activities every year to support the activities of leaf tobacco farms, which have a problem of labor shortages. We will continue to make the best efforts for mutual growth with farmers." Meanwhile, to improve the welfare of tobacco farmers, KT&G has provided KRW*3.336 billion in total to tobacco farmers since 2013, including scholarships for children and medical check-up subsidies for farmers. AUS$20M Illegal Tobacco Plantation Destroyed Police and officers from the Australian Tax Office seized and destroyed a 16-ton illegal tobacco crop in central west New South Wales. The crop would have generated AUS$28 million in excise tax and is one of the biggest crop busts in NSW history. Detectives and investigators from the NSW Police Force's State Crime Command, the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), the ATO, and the Australian Border Force (ABF) Illicit Tobacco Taskforce participated in the joint investigation into the large-scale illegal plantation. NSW Police officer Detective Superintendent Stuart Cadden said no arrests were made but investigations were ongoing. According to ATO assistant commissioner Justin Clarke, the operations were not run by "genuine farmers or landown- ers". "(They're run) by criminals living and operating in local communities," he said. ABF superintendent Sasha Barclay said cultivation of illicit tobacco crops has been on the rise among criminal syndicates, due to highly effective ABF detection and disruption at Australian borders. "What we're seeing is more and more criminal syndicates are trying their hand at cultivation to keep up supply as ABF continues to increase the amount of illicit tobacco being detected and seized at the border," she said. "These criminal syndicates are sophisticated and run like a business, so they will do whatever it takes to ensure they have a supply and can continue to bring in a profit at the expense of legitimate business owners and the wider Australian community." Growing tobacco has been prohibited in Australia for more than ten years, and the maximum punishment for the crime is ten years in prison. Cuba Looking at Record Worst Harvest State-run media reported that Cuba's Pinar del Rio area, known for its luxuriously smooth tobacco, is heading towards its worst harvest ever. Hurricane Ian steam-rolled the province last October, which provides the majority of the tobacco used in the coveted hand-rolled cigars made in the Caribbean island nation. Homes, infrastructure, and the majority of the tobacco drying huts in the area were all flattened. The planting season of 2022–2023 will be remembered as the "smallest in Pinar del Rio's history," according to an article in Granma, the official newspaper of Cuba. KT&G executives and employees transplanted tobacco seedlings. Photo credit KT&G. *US$1.00 = KRW1,330.00

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