27.2.13
Greece and multinational tobacco firm Philip Morris have come to an agreement, with the firm promising to purchase 50% of tobacco crops over the next three years. The deal worth 180 million euros is expected to support the declining tobacco farming.
The government wants to support the growth of the primary production sector, so much that the Prime Minister will be present with the Minister of Agriculture Athanasios Tsaftaris at the signing of the deal today with the Philip Morris’ Greek representative Andreas Kalatzopoulos.
The annual Greek tobacco production is estimated at about 26 million kilos, of which 20 million kilos are of the eastern variety and 6 million are of the Virginia variety. Philip Morris, which also controls the Papastratos tobacco industry, purchases about 11 million kilos of eastern variety tobacco at present.
The deal will mean a 20% increase in eastern tobacco purchases, meaning that the firm may absorb more than 50% of Greek tobacco, should there not be any significant changes to production. The local tobacco industry provides jobs for about 15,000 growers and 12,000 workers.
The tobacco production in Greece has dropped significantly from 2005, when production was estimated at 110 million kilos annually, due to subsidies and the wrong way they were used by state and farmers alike. At the same time, competition from neighboring tobacco-producing countries such as Turkey and Bulgaria has also increased, even in eastern variety.
