For classical oriental tobacco, 2016 marks an anniversary. It was 10 years ago that in Greece-previously the European Union's top tobacco producer-tobacco was "decoupled" from EU subsidies. Since then, the global market for the aromatic, sun-cured leaf that gives American-blend cigarettes their characteristic taste has changed considerably. The volume of oriental tobacco produced worldwide today is about the same as that produced by Greece alone prior to decoupling. In 2015, global production of classical oriental leaf tobacco declined again. According to figures provided by Sunel Tobacco Co., the combined crop of the world's four leading oriental producing countries (Turkey, Greece, Macedonia and Bulgaria) was expected to amount to 108,000 tons, down from 126,000 tons in 2014 and far from the 154,000 tons in 2013. Including semi-oriental varieties from countries such as China, Thailand, India and Kyrgyzstan, total global oriental production was forecast at 162,000 tons in 2015, down from 184,000 tons in the previous year.
展开▼
