TANZANIA TO EXPORT 10,000 TONNES OF TOBACCO TO CHINA

Yunnan — CHINA Yunnan Tobacco International Company said it would start buying tobacco leaf from Tanzania and this season the firm is going to buy 10,000 tonnes.

The move follows the agreement signed during President Xi Jinping visit in the country in March, last year.

The Vice-President of Yunnan Tobacco International, Ms Yang Xuemei, told the 'Daily News' that the buying of tobacco leaf from Tanzania was made possible after the signing of the bilateral trade deal.

"Depending with the demand on China's side and trade conditions between the two countries, the volume of tobacco bought is expected to increase next year," Ms Yang said when answering this paper's questions in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province, about 2,500 kms south west of Beijing.

The vice-president could not give revenues figures for the transaction as a lot has to be put into consideration, but she said Tanzania's tobacco leafs were of high quality in Africa.

According to Tanzania Tobacco Board (TTB), Tanzania is one of the world's leading producers of tobacco leaf. It is the 15th largest producer in the world and the 4th largest in Africa, after Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. On other hand, tobacco is the largest traditional pillar industry of Yunnan.

It accounts for over one-third of both growing acreage and output of China. In Yunnan, there are 16 tobacco brands, altogether 21 kinds of tobacco products. Tobacco export to China would assist on cutting down the trade imbalance between Tanzania and China.

According to Yunnan Foreign Affairs Office, Tanzania is the second largest trading partner after South Africa where last year the volumes stood at 33.7 million US dollars.

However, the country trade share was merely 330,000 US dollars. The province with the almost similar population size of Tanzania imported copper and lead ores, while the province exported malaria drugs, toilet soap and ink.

Nevertheless, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is pioneering to reduce the farming of tobacco as thus cut down also the number of smokers worldwide due to the crop related incurable disease.

Yunnan Tobacco International Limited was established in 2006 and is a wholly owned investment subsidiary of the tobacco industry system is the first professional international business company.

Yunnan tobaccos are also exported to Europe, the Middle East, Hong Kong and Macau.