Alliance One International has been selected to supply U.S. tobacco to Philip Morris International (PMI), as PMI adopts a new leaf procurement model in the United States and Canada.
On Nov. 5, 2014, PMI announced its decision to transition from direct contracting and purchasing of tobacco from U.S. growers to sourcing its U.S. tobacco requirements from Alliance One International and another global leaf merchant, effective for the 2015 crop.
PMI’s supply chain modification will position AOI to expand its North American footprint to include additional tobacco growers, and further expand the availability of North American tobacco to the wider, global market.
AOI and its predecessor companies have supplied tobacco to PMI for many decades. The two companies work closely together to advance continuous positive change in tobacco-growing communities on a global basis.
This work includes the promotion of Good Agricultural Practices that provide growers knowledge and skills to produce higher quality cash and food crops with improved yields, while striving to mitigate environmental and social impacts. Alliance One says it is committed to action-oriented social responsibility and the best practices set forward in its Agricultural Labor Practices code.
“The U.S. tobacco market has undergone substantial changes over the past decade, and continues to evolve at a rapid pace,” said Pieter Sikkel, president and CEO of Alliance One International. “PMI remains committed to sourcing in the U.S. market, and this transition ensures that PMI will continue to purchase high quality U.S. leaf through an optimized and efficient supply chain, while Alliance One expands its U.S. grower base and full service business. “
“We remain proudly committed to our current, well-established U.S. grower partners and look forward to working with a new grower base as well as other service providers,” said Herbert Weatherford, AOI’s regional director for North and Central America. “The broader grower base better positions Alliance One to expand the availability of U.S. and Canadian tobacco to domestic and international markets.”