Development planned for Kyrgyz tobacco

Kyrgyzstan is looking to attract foreign investment in its tobacco production industry, according to a story in The Times of Central Asia quoting Kyrgyz Agriculture Ministry figures.

The country produced 7,400 tons of mainly Dubek semi-oriental tobacco last year, but the crop’s value, at 631 million soms, was down from 1.083 billion soms the previous year.

Last year, too, Kyrgyzstan exported raw tobacco worth 13.3 million soms while importing from 24 countries cigarettes worth 51.8 million soms.

The Agriculture Ministry has submitted to the Kyrgyz government a proposal for developing the industry through the attraction of direct foreign investments during 2013-2015.

The proposal is aimed at improving the quality of the country’s raw and fermented tobacco, increasing its raw tobacco and cigarette production, increasing the export potential of the tobacco industry, and attracting investments to fund the modernization of fermentation factories and the construction of a cigarette factory in southern Kyrgyzstan. It aims, too, to ban the export of raw, unfermented tobacco.

The proposal includes also measures to improve the living standard of those people living in tobacco-growing regions by the creation of new jobs and the prevention of the ‘artificial lowering of purchasing prices for raw tobacco sold by local farmers’.

Tobacco is grown in three southern Kyrgyz regions — Osh, Jalal-Abad, and Batken