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• Zimbabwe Tobacco Production Rebounds Though Well Short of 2000 Record Sales 

Tobacco sales in Zimbabwe so far this year have reached 100 million kilograms, beating the official target of 77 million kilograms set before the selling season opened, and could mount to 120 million kilograms, industry sources said.

Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board Chief Executive Njodzi Machirori said sales of tobacco leaf have brought in US$297 million, nearly double sales in 2009 when the sector was reeling from a decade of land reform.

Machirori told VOA Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that while Zimbabwe is still far from the record 236 million kilograms sold in 2000, there are signs that sales of tobacco will advance further in 2011.

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Zimbabwe tobacco sales surpass 100 mln kgs  

Zimbabwe's tobacco deliveries to the auction floors last week surpassed the 100 million-kg mark for the first time in eight years.

There is now renewed hope that the deliveries could reach the new target of 114 million kg that was set by the industry recently, the Herald said on Tuesday.

The Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) has had to revise its target upwards twice from the initial 77 million kg. It last month revised the target to 93 million before settling for 114 million kg.

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• Kentucky burley threatened by global tobacco regulations  

Kentucky's main tobacco crop would be devastated by proposed international regulations designed to restrict the content of cigarettes, according to growers and lawmakers who are fighting the proposal.

The regulations, being written by the World Health Organization as part of the international tobacco control treaty, would effectively ban the use of burley tobacco in cigarettes, opponents say. The rules could be approved later this year.

Six of the eight members of Kentucky's congressional delegation have written organization officials in protest, arguing that a burley ban would provide no public health benefits.

"We believe these overly broad guidelines are a threat to the livelihood of American tobacco growers," warned the lawmakers' letter, signed by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., and Reps. Ed Whitfield, R-1st District; Brett Guthrie, R-2nd; Geoff Davis, R-4th; Hal Rogers, R-5th; and Ben Chandler, D-6th.

Gov. Steve Beshear's office said he had not written to oppose the regulations. . . .

The letter from the Kentucky lawmakers was written June 30 to Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Jonas Gahr Store, who is playing a lead role in formulating the new guidelines, to be considered at a November meeting in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

"While legislation that seeks to eliminate sweet or candy flavored tobacco from the market may be well intended, the prohibition on the use of all ingredients goes far beyond eliminating only those products with so-called characterizing flavors," the letter said.

"The draft (treaty) guidelines would eliminate the entire category of traditional American blend tobacco that contains burley tobacco, while allowing other categories of cigarettes to remain in the marketplace," the lawmakers continued. "This is simply unfair and does nothing more than stop the sale of American blended tobacco."

The United States signed the tobacco treaty, formally known as the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, in May 2004.

But then-President George W. Bush never submitted the treaty to the Senate for ratification, and President Barack Obama so far has not responded to public health groups' appeals for action on it.

While the treaty took effect in 2005, the United States has had little voice in the implementation of its provisions because it has not ratified it.

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While legislation that seeks to eliminate sweet or candy flavored tobacco from the market may be well intended, the prohibition on the use of all ingredients goes far beyond eliminating only those products with so-called characterizing flavors. The draft (FCTC treaty) guidelines would eliminate the entire category of traditional American blend tobacco that contains burley tobacco, while allowing other categories of cigarettes to remain in the marketplace. This is simply unfair and does nothing more than stop the sale of American blended tobacco.
June 30 letter from Kentucky lawmakers was written to Norwegian Foreign Affairs Minister Jonas Gahr Store, who is playing a lead role in formulating the new FCTC guidelines, to be considered at a November meeting in Punta del Este, Uruguay.

Asian Tobacco Growers Call on Governments to Oppose Proposal by World Health Organization to Ban Tobacco Ingredients 

Representatives of over 4 million tobacco growers across Asia called on governments to reject recent recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO) to ban tobacco ingredients. The representatives signed a declaration at the close of the inaugural Asia Tobacco Forum, hosted by the International Tobacco Growers’ Association (ITGA) and Aliansi Masyarakat Tembakau Indonesia (AMTI) in Jakarta, Indonesia. The two-day meeting was attended by growers from India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

“We urge all governments to reject the proposal to ban tobacco ingredients and to investigate other alternatives that can achieve public health goals while also protecting the millions of jobs that are dependent on tobacco growing”

“We urge all governments to reject the proposal to ban tobacco ingredients and to investigate other alternatives that can achieve public health goals while also protecting the millions of jobs that are dependent on tobacco growing,” said Roger Quarles, President of ITGA.

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Tobacco auction warehouse to reopen in Danville  

Piedmont Warehouse, a former tobacco auction warehouse, plans to reopen in August to give growers an alternative for selling their tobacco.

If successful, the warehouse could mean more money in pocket for growers and an economic boost for Danville. Tobacco was last sold in the 125,000-square-foot warehouse in 1971.

"It's too good of a building and represents too much opportunity to just let it slip," said warehouse operator Harry Lea.

Lea and operator Jim Eggleston anticipate receiving baled flue-cured tobacco on Aug. 16 at 301 Trade St.

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Tobacco productivity up 

Tobacco output per hectare rose from 600 kilos in 2000 to 1.3 tonnes last year, says a crop processing company.

“The growth has resulted in an increase in incomes for growers per hectare to Sh3.2 million from Sh934,500 in 2003,” Alliance One Tobacco Tanzania Ltd (AOTTL) managing director Graham Kayes said in a statement recently.

According to him, the productivity rose because farming had been modernised.

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Malawi Tobacco Unchanged at $2.01 a Kilogram for Second Week - BusinessWeek 

The average price of tobacco in Malawi, the world's largest producer of burley tobacco, was unchanged for a second week, Auction Holdings Limited said.

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• NTA opposes tobacco production-reduction moves  

THE National Tobacco Administration (NTA) will continue opposing any move to reduce tobacco production in the country unless government would effectively put in place measures that will counter the expected loss of jobs that could affect thousands of tobacco farmers and stakeholders.

Rex Antonio P. Teoxon, department manager of the Corporate Planning Department and officer-in-charge of the Industrial Research Department of NTA, reiterated the agency's stand in view of the objective of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Council (FCTC) negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization, in which the Philippines is a signatory, to encourage the stop of tobacco consumption. . . .

Article 10 pertains to measures requiring manufacturers and importers to disclose to government authorities information about the contents and emissions of these products.

Article 9 is sponsored by Canada, which may bring into the international arena its local legislation, Bill C-32 which bans the manufacture and sale of cigarettes containing 5,000 flavorings and additives, including those used in traditional blended cigarettes.

This, Teoxon warned, is threatening the local tobacco industry, to the detriment of stakeholders.

The local tobacco industry, according to Teoxon, provides livelihood and sustenance to two million people including 600,000 tobacco farmers and families. It generates more than P30 billion in taxes annually, which help government fund education, health, welfare, infrastructure and economic programs all over the country.

Under Executive Order 245, the NTA is mandated to improve the economic and living conditions of tobacco farmers and those who depend on the industry.

It is also tasked to promote the balanced and integrated growth of the tobacco industry to help make agriculture a solid basis for industrialization.

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Ontario Tobacco Growers class action: Frequently Asked Questions 

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THESE CLASS ACTIONS

PARTICIPATION IN THESE CLASS ACTIONS

PROGRESS OF THESE CLASS ACTIONS

CLASS ACTIONS

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THESE CLASS ACTIONS

Q: What are these class actions about?

A: These class actions seek to recover the difference between the export price paid by the domestic manufacturers (Rothman’s Benson & Hedges Inc., Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited and JTI-MacDonald Corp.) for Ontario tobacco at the Board’s auctions and the higher price they ought to have paid because the tobacco was actually intended for domestic use. The pricing and payment obligations were contained in the agreements negotiated annually by the Board on behalf of Ontario flue-cured tobacco growers and producers

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• Ontario Tobacco Growers class action 

THE CLASS ACTIONS

2. RBH, ITCL and JTI have settled civil claims by the federal and provincial governments in respect of those companies' roles in cross-border smuggling of tobacco. While the governments will be compensated for the losses they have sustained due to tobacco smuggling, the tobacco growers and producers, who claim they were underpaid for their crops, have not been compensated for their losses stemming from that same activity. The class actions are intended to achieve that purpose.

3. On November 5, 2009, a class action was commenced on behalf of Ontario flue-cured tobacco growers and producers against RBH.

4. On December 2, 2009, a class action was commenced on behalf of Ontario flue-cured tobacco growers and producers against ITCL.

5. On April 23, 2010, a class action was commenced on behalf of Ontario flue-cured tobacco growers and producers against JTI.

6. The class actions seek to recover the difference between the export price paid by the domestic manufacturers (RBH, ITCL and JTI) for Ontario tobacco at the Board's auctions and the higher price they ought to have paid because the tobacco was actually intended for domestic use. The pricing and payment obligations were contained in the agreements negotiated annually by the Board on behalf of Ontario flue-cured tobacco growers and producers.

NEXT STEPS

7. The class actions are in the preliminary stages. The court will eventually set a timetable for the conduct of the actions, but that has not occurred yet.

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Tobacco giant Philip Morris sold cigarettes made using child labour  

Tobacco giant Philip Morris has been forced to admit that child workers as young as 10 have been subjected to long hours working on tobacco farms with which it has contracts in the Central Asian state of Kazakhstan.

According to a report by Human Rights Watch, migrant workers at the farms, mostly from neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, were subjected to conditions that often amounted to forced labour, as employers contracted by tobacco farms that sold their produce to Philip Morris International had their passports confiscated and were often made to do additional work for no pay. The company, which sources tobacco from Kazakhstan for cigarette brands sold in Russia and other former Soviet states, said it was taking "immediate action" to stop the abuses.

In many cases families were expected to pay back unrealistic debts to intermediaries who had arranged for their journeys to Kazakhstan, in schemes that bear all the hallmarks of people trafficking. The report also documented 72 cases of children working on the farms.

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VIDEO: Tobacco Giant Philip Morris is Hooked on Child Labor (Video)  

While Philip Morris may seek to demonstrate good corporate citizenship, the report suggests that the exploitation of migrants in Kazakhstan is just a regular part of doing business in this part of the world. (Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict in neighboring Kyrgystan portends further regional destabilization and mass migration.)

On this side of the planet, pressuring individual employers--say, through a boycott--might deter certain corporate abuses. But the network of companies surrounding Philip Morris is, as Alternet's Byard Duncan notes, extremely complex and perhaps near impossible for consumers to undermine. Migrants' struggles reflect the deep entanglement of global economic inequality and the power of the market.

So the cash crop that helped engender modern capitalism continues its reign. This chapter of tobacco's rich history of exploitation demonstrates, once again, that this stuff is pretty hard to quit.

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Tobacco Workers In Kazakhstan Face Exploitation, Child Labor 

The girl is one of the dozens of farm workers who was interviewed by the New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) during fact-finding missions it conducted in 2009 in Kazakhstan's Enbekshikazakh district. Some 120 kilometers east of Almaty, it is the site of nearly all of the country's tobacco cultivation -- and according to HRW, the site of widespread exploitation of mainly Kyrgyz migrant workers and their children.

HRW's Rachel Denber

The HRW report, titled "Hellish Work," documents wage violations, forced labor, debt bondage, excessively long working hours, the absence of written contracts, exposure of workers to pesticides, lack of clean drinking water, and illegal labor by children as young as 10 on the tobacco farms.

Rachel Denber, HRW's deputy director for Europe and Central Asia, says that one abuse often leads to another. "The payment structure is such that migrant workers get paid once at the end of the season by the volume of tobacco that they produce," she notes. "And that incentivizes child labor because these migrant workers travel with families and they need to get as many hands on the tobacco as possible."

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• Lawmakers Seek Overseas Labor Data From Tobacco Company  

Leaders of a Congressional investigation panel on Friday asked the global tobacco giant Philip Morris International to produce any information from the past three years regarding child labor, forced labor or unsafe working conditions in its overseas markets.

The request from the Committee on Energy and Commerce followed a report in The Times on a human rights group's finding that P.M.I., the maker of Marlboro products overseas, benefited from at least 72 instances of child labor in tobacco fields in Kazakhstan.

The committee asked for all documents since Jan. 1, 2007, "relating to any allegations of abusive labor practices in any of your company's production markets, including child labor, forced labor, illegal withholding of passports, unsafe working conditions, and unsanitary living conditions, and the company's efforts to prevent such practices."

The letter on Friday was signed by the committee chairman, a longtime tobacco fighter, Henry A. Waxman, Democrat of California, and the chairman of the subcommittee on oversight and investigations, Bart Stupak, Democrat of Michigan.

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Philip Morris Kazakh Suppliers Used Forced Labor, Group Says 

Philip Morris International Inc., the world's largest publicly traded tobacco maker, bought tobacco from farms in Kazakhstan that trapped workers into forced labor, Human Rights Watch said.

Employers at the farms confiscated migrant workers' passports, didn't pay regular wages and used child labor, the non-governmental organization said in a report on its website today. The report was based on interviews with 68 farm workers in 2009. Philip Morris said it has strengthened its child labor policies and is stepping up training of employees about migrant- worker rights.

"We found six families who were trapped in situations amounting to forced labor," Jane Buchanan, author of the report, said on the group's website.

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