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  • NewCo Funding Clean Water in Kenya

    NewCo Funding Clean Water in Kenya

    NewCo announced a new initiative where it donates $300 to provide clean and safe water to Masaai communities in rural Kenya for every container of African-origin tobacco it sells.

    “As we celebrate 20 years of proudly serving our suppliers and customers, we want to give back to the communities that make our work possible,” NewCo owner Rainer Busch said. “Over 40% of Kenya’s rural population lacks access to clean drinking water, forcing families – especially women and children – to walk long distances daily just to fetch water. Many rely on contaminated sources, leading to severe health risks like cholera and dysentery.

    “With your support, we can fund sustainable water solutions; improving health, reducing hardship, and empowering entire communities.”

    NewCo is also accepting donations for the cause, with Busch saying, “Any amount, big or small, can accelerate our impact.”

  • Making a Splash

    Making a Splash

    Photo: NewCo

    A small water filter and a biodegradable sample bag may help reduce the environmental impact of tobacco production.

    By George Gay

    The U.N. Biodiversity Conference is due, Dec. 5–17, in Montreal, Canada, to convene governments from around the world to agree to a new set of goals for nature, according to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity. That is the good news, I guess. The bad news is that, in a note posted June 21 on the U.N. Environment Program website, the secretariat said that despite ongoing efforts, biodiversity was deteriorating worldwide and that this decline was projected to worsen with “business-as-usual scenarios.”

    One of the concerns I have is that we seem to be piling one existential crisis on top of another. A decline in biodiversity feeds climate change and environmental damage, and climate change and environmental damage feed a decline in biodiversity. And because of this seemingly catastrophic loop, I find it’s easy to become overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness. But there is another way of looking at things. Firstly, we can admit that we are faced with an existential crisis, and secondly, we can respond positively in any and every way possible. And, luckily, there are some seemingly modest interventions that step out of the shadow of business as usual and punch above their weight.

    The idea that, in attempting to tackle the environmental crisis, we needed to look beyond the obvious, major interventions was suggested to me recently by Rainer Busch, the managing director of the tobacco dealer NewCo, in response to something I had written about deforestation being caused by tobacco farmers using wood fuel for curing tobacco. While accepting that such deforestation was a problem, he pointed out that a bigger problem was caused by the need for farmers and their families—along with many other people in less developed countries—to burn wood for other reasons, including the need to boil otherwise nonpotable water.

    Starting Small

    Fortunately, this domestic problem, while bigger, is potentially easier to address and is starting to be addressed in a modest way through a newly incorporated company, NewCo Pro, which was set up to focus on business opportunities that embrace positive socioeconomic initiatives outside the tobacco industry, though mostly connected with it. And one of NewCo Pro’s first initiatives has seen it partner with Sydney 905, a South Africa-based company that offers water filters.

    Jose Maria Costa, the senior executive advisor at NewCo Pro, who first came across these filters, is passionate about their potential to improve the lot of people who do not have easy access to potable water. Costa, who has lived in and visited many less developed countries, told me that, notwithstanding his experience, he was horrified when he started to investigate how, in the 21st century, millions of people lived without ready access to acceptable water. It seemed impossible that so many people still lived in this way, he said.

    There are a lot of water filters on the market, but Costa reckons the Sydney 905, for which NewCo Pro is the worldwide sales agent, is ideal. And it is hard to disagree. This is a robust, easy-to-use, versatile unit that is small enough to be carried in a largish pocket but with capacity enough to serve a family. It is mainly intended to be fitted to the outlet tap of a container of collected river, well or rainwater, and, using a simple gravity feed, turn about 30–35 liters of murky-looking contaminated water crystal-clear and safe each hour while retaining naturally occurring, safe minerals. But it can also be used to process mains water, where such is available, or it can be attached to a plastic bottle of water taken from a river, in which case the drinker supplies the necessary pressure simply by squeezing the bottle. It uses neither chemicals nor batteries.

    As well as the Sydney 905 Filter, which uses a 0.1 micron hollow-fiber membrane that Costa expects to attract most interest, there is the Sydney 905 Purifier, which uses a 0.01 micron membrane and is therefore suitable only where mains pressure is available. The exact specifications of the two units are fully explained at www.newco-pro.com, which also provides the results of water purity tests undertaken by various official certification bodies along with some informative and entertaining videos.

    Return on Investment

    One of the most compelling things about the Sydney 905 filter has to be its value. While, at about $40 a unit, it would not be cheap for a financially impoverished family, there is no need to change the filter, so the unit could last for very many years without incurring any maintenance costs as long as it is regularly and conscientiously cleaned using a simple backwashing process. And while the initial outlay is not insubstantial, the payback is rapid and ongoing. One Kenyan farmer who wrote to Costa said that by using the filter, his family of 10 was saving about $60 a month because it no longer had to buy bottled water. Additionally, another savings, in costs and health, was being enjoyed because the farmer and his family were no longer losing work and school days to sickness caused by water pollution.

    It is surely not beyond the bounds of possibility that these filters could be provided free of charge by major companies working closely with tobacco and other farmers or that at least these companies could provide interest-free loans to help such farmers buy them. After all, as Busch pointed out, the use of these filters can help in the fight against deforestation, and as Costa added, most tobacco companies have committed to the U.N.’s Strategic Development Goals, No.6 of which aims to provide everybody with clean water by 2030.

    Things are moving. Costa said that NewCo Pro believed it was close to an agreement to start production of the filters in India, for the Indian market, and that the company had been in contact with large nongovernmental organizations, local governments and tobacco companies around the world. But progress is not what it should be, given the personal and population-wide problems caused by the lack of potable water and given that the Sydney 905 solution to the problem seems so simple but powerful. Achieving goal No.6 is going to require all hands to the pump and a willingness to step out of the shadow of business as usual since, according to the NewCo Pro website, in 2022, 844 million people lack basic water services, 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water, and 3.5 million people die each year from causes linked to unsafe water.

    Biodegradable Bags

    Meanwhile, there is a certain irony in NewCo Pro promoting the distribution of these filters because they are made of plastic, and another NewCo project is aimed at reducing the use of plastics. But there is a clear difference here. The filter units are meant to last many years whereas the plastic NewCo is trying to eliminate is single use, such as that used for wrapping leaf tobacco samples.

    Busch has been working on this project for about three or four years now, since before the formation of NewCo Pro. He started by replacing the plastic sample bags with reusable cotton bags, but while these were popular with customers up to a point, they had the disadvantages that they weren’t transparent and that they weren’t as good as plastic at retaining moisture.

    What NewCo Pro is now offering is a transparent bag made from potato starch. These EU-certified and Germany-certified food grade bags are 100 percent biodegradable so that while, theoretically, they have an unlimited life under normal circumstances, they break down into compost that can be used as fertilizer within 90 days to 150 days of their coming into contact with an environment open to the elements. Busch said that farmers in Italy and Spain are already using seedbeds made from the product, which is ideal for such use and better than commercially available fertilizers, a seemingly critical factor at a time of soaring fertilizer prices.

    But there is a catch. While the people on the ground who Costa talks with are enthusiastic about this biodegradable product, the message apparently is not getting back to the people who make the decisions, or those people are stuck in business-as-usual mode and are not making the decision to change from plastic to potato starch. If it is a lack of decision-making, this seems incredibly short-sighted, especially given the huge problems being caused by plastic waste and given that switching to the new type of bags would allow companies to improve the services they offer and be seen to improve those services while incurring only an immaterial increase in costs. There seems to be no reason why companies could not make the switch immediately. After all, if a relatively small leaf dealer such as NewCo can research this matter and make the change, surely others, with the research having been carried out for them, could make the switch also.

    Undaunted, NewCo Pro is already researching the use of potato starch for applications that go beyond sample bags—applications such as replacing the polyliners used for packing certain lots of tobacco for particular customers or replacing the plastic polypots used in the production side of the industry. And it is willing to put companies wishing to follow its lead in touch with the suppliers of such materials. When it comes to plastics, the message from Busch and Costa is “enough is enough.”

    George Gay is Tobacco Reporter’s European editor, but his territory spans the globe. Based in London, George has covered the tobacco industry since 1982, initially for a U.K.-based publication and since 2004 for Tobacco Reporter. George’s understanding of industry issues, combined with his keen sense of observation and dry wit, have earned him a loyal following among Tobacco Reporter’s readers.
  • Craving Normalcy

    Craving Normalcy

    Photos: Taco Tuinstra

    Climate change, war and a lingering pandemic exacerbate the typical challenges presented by leaf tobacco supply and demand.

    By George Gay

    I have a question. Given the environmental crisis the world faces, why are the tobacco industry’s operations dominated by flue-cured tobacco varieties rather than sun-cured varieties? I mean, why cut down trees and burn them as part of the flue-curing process when it is possible to rely on the energy freely and directly available from the sun to cure tobacco? It cannot be a quality thing because whereas, for example, sun-cured classical oriental tobaccos are sublimely aromatic, flue-cured Virginia tobaccos are unremarkable at best.

    Another argument that cannot be made is that the industry was not aware of the deforestation it was causing by flue-curing tobacco and therefore hasn’t had time to switch from flue-cured to sun-cured tobaccos. The issue of tobacco-driven deforestation was being widely discussed in the early 1980s and probably before that. Of course, not all flue-curing relies on burning wood, but that which doesn’t, as far as I am aware, requires, directly or indirectly, burning fossil fuels.

    So what is the answer to the question posed above? I think there are probably very many answers, none of them particularly convincing, so I believe that even now efforts should be made to switch production from flue-cured varieties to sun-cured and, perhaps, air-cured varieties. And maybe this will happen, partly because of the growing alignment of environmental and health activists and arguments.

    A recent report by the World Health Organization and Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP), Talking trash: Behind the tobacco industry’s ‘green’ public relations, accuses the industry, mainly in the guise of the four major multinationals, of “greenwashing.” And though some of the report is lightweight and unconvincing, its uncomplicated messages are likely to register with a nonindustry audience. “Tobacco growing and curing are also both direct causes of deforestation,” the report says in part.

    In addition, according to Natalia Pujalte writing in May in The Parliament Magazine, the EU presented in November a proposal for new regulations that would allow “only deforestation-free and legal products” to be sold on the EU market. Tobacco wasn’t mentioned in Pujalte’s piece, but with the regulations still under consideration and the EU’s aversion to all things tobacco, it is unlikely the industry will slip through the net.

    The developed world is currently facing levels of inflation not seen in decades, so the entire supply chain has been suffering cost increases that are difficult to offset.

    Pressing Challenges

    I suspect that 99 percent of those working in the tobacco industry will disagree with my suggestion and come up with all sorts of reasons why sun-cured and air-cured tobaccos cannot be used as the main ingredients in cigarettes, at least in part because they have other things on their minds. According to a number of respondents to a Tobacco Reporter questionnaire, the leaf industry is suffering from the effects of everything from climate change to the war in Ukraine and long Covid.

    Jose Maria Costa

    Although Jose Maria Costa of NewCo said leaf tobacco demand from a wide range of customers was holding up well, he positioned a range of industry problems within that affecting just about every business and individual globally. The world had been through 15 difficult years since the financial crisis of 2007–2008, he said. And more recently, the war in Ukraine had been launched before economies around the world had a chance to recover from the impact of the Covid pandemic. The developed world was currently facing levels of inflation not seen in decades, so the entire supply chain was suffering cost increases that were very difficult to offset. Logistical challenges that had been evident for a year were adding to the problems, with prices for a container quadrupling for certain routes. At the same time, there were smaller-than-desirable tobacco crops in key markets such as Brazil, and prices were going through the roof in all markets.

    And whereas the tobacco industry had been through a lot of changes and cycles over the years, things were different now, Costa said, implying, I think, that there were now more, worse problems that were proving harder to overcome. The world needed a period of stability, and the tobacco industry did too, throughout its supply chain, he said.

    Craving Consistency

    Meanwhile, Christian Adi Njoto Njoo, the president of Mangli Djaya Raya, which for more than 60 years has produced, processed and traded tobacco from its base in Indonesia, told Tobacco Reporter that his current main concerns are focused on how to ensure production is sustainable in the face of anomalous weather patterns and how to address market inconsistencies. Addressing the challenges caused by climate change would need an elaborate plan devised and supported by a broad range of stakeholders, including governments, and would be a long-term project, he said. And in the meantime, recent prolonged rainy seasons in Indonesia were predicted by the Indonesian Agency for Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysics to continue through at least this year and next, which could mean shorter crops and prices rising to previously unheard of levels.

    On the other hand, market inconsistencies could be improved in the short term, Njoto said. They were caused by a lack of central planning that allowed a vicious season-by-season cycle of production boom and bust to develop as growers, who were not fully informed, reacted to the prices paid in the previous season, not necessarily to the needs of the current season. Some market inconsistencies, he added, could be improved through government regulation and by better and consistent planning by medium to large corporations when deciding on their purchasing, production and price indications for future seasons.

    One indirect result of the boom-and-bust cycle was volatility in the stocks and prices of fertilizers and crop protection agents, followed inevitably by higher production costs and pressure for tobacco price rises. The scarcity of fertilizers in recent times had seen their prices increase hugely to the point where the government was currently trying to control the sale of fertilizer on the domestic market and to limit and even ban its export.

    Around the world, leaf dealers are pondering how to ensure that production is sustainable in the face of anomalous weather patterns and how to address market inconsistencies.

    On the Bright Side

    The Tobacco Reporter questionnaire asked, basically, what is currently positive about the leaf tobacco industry, what is negative and what can be done to improve things.

    Njoto identified unhelpful regulations as being a problem for the industry, though he recognized that regulations were necessary in respect of protecting certain industry stakeholders, especially farmers and workers, and also the environment. In fact, he accepted that, in Indonesia, regulations were less strict and made more sense business-wise than those in some other countries and regions. It was also helpful that government-owned tobacco research facilities, laboratories and other institutions had been steadily improved in recent years through increased budget allocations drawn from various tobacco industry-related tax revenues. At the same time, government and private extension services, including the gradual implementation of sustainable tobacco programs required by the major multinationals, were aiding tobacco farmers, workers and other industry stakeholders.

    However, he said, it was concerning that “international regulations” were starting to be introduced, and introduced without enough consultation, which meant some were poorly received and adapted and therefore hindered the industry’s stability and development. This situation needed to be improved by ensuring a balance was struck between the health and economic interests of all stakeholders.

    Interestingly, ITC, India’s dominant tobacco manufacturer that has been closely linked to the success of the country’s flue-cured tobacco industry, mentioned no problems in its response to the questionnaire, preferring to concentrate on what it sees as the “world’s best public/private partnership model in agriculture,” namely, the Indian tobacco auction system, which was introduced in 1984.

    ITC made the point that while flue-cured tobacco occupied less than 0.10 percent of the country’s total arable land area, it was an important, sustainable commercial crop, generating enormous socioeconomic benefits in terms of agricultural employment, farm incomes, revenue generation and foreign exchange earnings. In part, this was down to the Tobacco Board’s e-auction system for this type, which provided for fair assessments of growers’ bales in respect of both weight and grading, healthy competition, fair prices and, importantly, prompt digital payments.

    Also accentuating the positive was Frederick de Cramer, a tobacco industry doyen now involved with the production of Latakia tobacco. In Turkey, opportunities were being created by a tobacco law instigated last year requiring cigarette manufacturers to include 10 percent locally grown Virginia in their blends, he said, a figure that was due to rise to 30 percent in four years. Local cut rag operations that bought domestically grown sun-cured Virginia (SCV) and flue-cured Virginia (FCV) were looking into the possibility of providing access to their leaf sources to cigarette manufacturers. But de Cramer pointed out, too, that, currently, there was a need to apply better agricultural practices to increase the quality of the SCV and FCV produced in Turkey for both the domestic and export markets. And there was a need, too, for a good big-leaf processing line.

    Turning to the issue of locally grown classical oriental tobacco, de Cramer said a reduction in demand for these varieties was causing concern for the long term. Multinational tobacco manufacturers had reduced their demand for these varieties for a number of reasons but mainly because of price/cost considerations. In recent months, though, the Turkish lira had devalued substantially against the dollar, and it was possible that demand for Turkish oriental tobacco could increase. But there is danger nevertheless, said de Cramer. While classical oriental tobacco had been and still was a vital component of high-quality American-blend cigarettes, multinational manufacturers were no longer supporting this traditional leaf as they had in the past. Demand had been reduced due to several factors, including the switch to nontraditional cigarettes such as e-cigarettes, lower oriental inclusion rates in traditional blends, even the removal of such tobaccos completely from some blends, and import duties in some countries imposing de facto import restrictions.

    Demand for classical oriental tobacco has declined due to the switch to nontraditional cigarettes such as e-cigarettes, lower oriental inclusion rates in traditional blends and import duties in some countries.
    (Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive)

    The Greek Outlook

    This partly mirrors what has been happening in Greece, where the future of the leaf tobacco industry is apparently under threat. I say “apparently” because industry experts in Greece are reluctant to say anything even though problems have been apparent since at least 2019. Little wonder perhaps. From what I can surmise, it seems possible that within three years to 10 years, Greece may no longer produce classical oriental tobacco—possibly no tobacco at all.

    Assuming this is correct, how did things reach such a pass? For many years, the Greek tobacco industry operated in a country that supported production. The industry had easy access to finance, good extension services and a lot of skilled growers who, in general, were paid fairly. It had good processing facilities, a stable customer base and well-established export systems.

    It is true that production levels were sometimes out of kilter with the market, but there were multiple reasons for this, not all of which were within the control of the Greek industry. And, in any case, production of classical varieties of oriental tobacco were cut back hugely in 2006 to 20,000 tons a year after the decoupling of EU crop-specific agricultural support, a move that seemed to stabilize the industry and align it more closely with the new market realities.

    Clearly, what is at the root of the problem is demand. Again, from what I can surmise, the classical oriental tobacco crop last year fell to 11,900 tons, the smallest crop of classical oriental tobacco ever in Greece, while next year’s production might or might not hit 10,000 tons. Why? One major factor is that Philip Morris International, which had, for a number of years post-decoupling, agreed to buy a significant proportion of Greece’s crop, pulled out of that agreement in 2019, partly, I guess, because of its commitment to switch its production away from traditional cigarettes to IQOS. Subsequently, its orders placed with Greek processors seem to have fallen to a fifth or even a tenth of what they were.

    Is there any way back for Greece? Possibly not. Even if demand started to pick up, the industry would have to attract a new generation of growers to tobacco, which, on current evidence, might prove difficult. But never say never. There are many unknowns currently affecting the tobacco industry, not the least of which concerns how successful heated-tobacco products and e-cigarettes will be in a world starting to concentrate on environmental issues. And the issue of filters cannot be ignored. Will they be banned eventually, which would make sense environmentally? And if they are banned, along with flavors, how do you make a decent cigarette? Well, one obvious way would be to use classical oriental tobacco.

    George Gay is Tobacco Reporter’s European editor, but his territory spans the globe. Based in London, George has covered the tobacco industry since 1982, initially for a U.K.-based publication and since 2004 for Tobacco Reporter. George’s understanding of industry issues, combined with his keen sense of observation and dry wit, have earned him a loyal following among Tobacco Reporter’s readers.
  • Holding the Line

    Holding the Line

    Photo: Schmidt Pest Management Consulting

    The war on tobacco insect pests continues.

    By George Gay

    On being asked recently whether the war against tobacco insect pests would ever be won, most of the experts and interested parties contacted, referring mainly to post-harvest tobacco in transit or storage, said no, qualified in one way or another. But Vernon Schmidt of Schmidt Pest Management Consulting wondered whether “winning” or “losing” was the best way to judge what was happening overall. The important point in the battle against the tobacco beetle and tobacco moth, he said, concerned whether industry players were working together, communicating well and implementing fundamental pest control strategies. In other words, was the industry stewarding its resources well to allow it to use the tools available to it wisely and thereby minimize tobacco and tobacco product losses?

    “Communication lines need to remain open, and cooperative research needs to be supported by the players within the industry in order for us to stay ahead of the insect pests,” said Schmidt in an email response. “This is the brilliance of Coresta and the work of its Subgroup on Pest and Sanitation Management in Stored Tobacco [PSMST].”

    Worryingly, however, he added a caveat that is unlikely to have come out of the blue. “Pulling out of cooperative endeavors and doing it on our own will not be a winning strategy,” said Schmidt, who was closely associated with Coresta and the PSMST in the past, and who is likely to be so again shortly after a break made necessary by his transition from an employee of Reynolds American to starting his own consultancy.

    And Schmidt had other warnings. There would be no success without the industry’s putting in the hard work of implementing fundamental pest control practices, and there would still be challenges, he added, even where the fundamentals were in place. Phosphine resistance remained a challenge and would continue to worsen if the industry did not address the causes. Insisting on quality phosphine fumigations remained a must, and consideration had to be given to eliminating ineffective fumigations, such as container fumigations, or, at least, implementing measures to improve them greatly by, for instance, requiring barrier sheeting be placed on the floors of containers before loading to minimize gas leakage.

    And in what seemed to me to be a minor bombshell, Schmidt admitted that the way in which phosphine worked as a fumigant still needed to be understood better and should continue to be investigated cooperatively. Such investigations, he added, would likely lead to a revision of the Coresta Fumigation Guide and require a new round of global training.

    Exploring Alternatives

    At the same time, the 30-year search for an alternative to phosphine should continue, again co-operatively, said Schmidt. There was promising work underway investigating a potential alternative to phosphine, sulfuryl fluoride, which offered a completely different mode of action from phosphine. This had the potential to break phosphine resistance where it existed and, additionally, preserve phosphine as an excellent tool for the industry.

    And moving away from fumigation techniques, Schmidt said controlled atmosphere (CA) and freezing treatments should be implemented where feasible.

    Rene Luyten, a director at b-Cat, which installs CA chambers, made the point that tobacco insects were difficult to control, partly because they were able to adapt to new circumstances. In other words, while it was possible to eliminate such insects in individual tobacco batches, there were often routes through which others could enter those batches. In part, this was down to the very nature of tobacco, which is a bulk product subject to transportation, division into smaller consignments and storage. Additionally, tobacco doesn’t exist in isolation but is sometimes stored alongside other products that also provide homes and breeding grounds for insects of concern.

    Indeed, Luyten said it was possible to have in-house clean tobacco free of insects or to receive clean tobacco on one day and the next day to have a huge issue with insects. Of course, the severity of the problem would depend, in part, on the location of the warehouse, with those in warmer climes likely to experience more insect activity. But such issues could arise in many places, added Luyten, even when everybody in the tobacco chain did their best to avoid infestation. Fumigators might comply with best practices that conformed with the guidelines laid down by Coresta. And warehouses might employ best practices in respect of storage, including the use of good sanitation programs. But it wasn’t always possible to have control of all factors, such as when a neighboring warehouse storing raw food didn’t employ strict and proper sanitation protocols.

    Controlled atmosphere technology offers a “green” solution for pest control.
    (Photo: b-Cat)

    Positives and Negatives

    Schmidt, too, saw positives and negatives stretching along the supply chain. A positive would see farmers eliminating carry-over tobacco, but the fact that farmers were unable to treat their post-harvested tobacco was a negative, he said. The receipt by processors of infested tobacco was a negative while the lethal effects to insects of processing was a positive. Reinfestation during transport was a negative while monitoring programs for transported tobacco provided a positive. Good segregation practices during storage constituted a positive, but undetected phosphine resistance was a negative. Continually improved cleaning programs at manufacturing plants constituted a positive, but insect harborages that could not be eliminated without dismantling equipment comprised a negative.

    There is at least one caveat you have to add to the idea that the war against tobacco insects cannot be won. It can be won in the sense that insects of all types and in all their life stages can be eliminated from tobacco just before it is manufactured. Luyten said an increasing number of tobacco manufacturing plants were installing CA technology, which he described as a “green and natural treatment method” offering a 100 percent mortality rate among insect pests in all their life stages. In fact, b-Cat’s main building program currently involves installing CA facilities, including remote control and monitoring systems, at manufacturing sites.

    Away from the major manufacturing sites, things are rather different. For instance, Guy Harvey, the CEO of Transcom Sharaf in Africa, who is based out of Mozambique, said businesses in that part of the world used only chemical fumigation, though this was not for want of trying other methods. Harvey said his company had completed trials on the use of CA in Mozambique but that it seemed the industry was not ready for it yet, which I took to mean that companies further down the supply chain were not willing to help pick up additional costs arising from CA. Certainly, in Harvey’s view, the capital costs of CA were holding back its use in Mozambique.

    This might be unfortunate, though it has to be remembered that fumigation can be effective. Nico Vroom, who runs the consultancy N.I.C.O, also believes the war against tobacco insects will never be won, but he believes, too, that infestations can be kept to a “manageable level” through the use of good fumigation practices and through the employment of recent technological advances, such as sensors for constantly monitoring tobacco.

    While complete victory in the battle against tobacco insects is some ways off, infestations can be kept to a “manageable level” through the use of good fumigation practices and through the employment of recent technological advances, such as sensors for constantly monitoring tobacco.
    (Photo: Transcom Sharaf)

    Ongoing Monitoring

    One respondent who didn’t give an unequivocal “no” in answer to the question about whether the industry was winning the war against insects was Steven Bailey, managing director of the Barrettine Group, which manufactures the Mobe Combo insect monitoring trap. Bailey said he thought it unlikely that the industry was winning the war, but that it might be holding its own. Traditional treatment methods using fumigants were limited to only a few. He was unaware of any new pesticides coming through beyond, perhaps, sulfuryl fluoride, he added, and due to high regulatory and approval costs, didn’t expect there to be any anytime soon. This, together with ongoing phosphine-resistance issues, was a concern, but CA treatments in conjunction with insect monitoring and traditional methods were helping the industry to stay on top of the problem. The importance of ongoing insect monitoring was therefore essential in pinpointing infestations so that control measures could be carried out as soon as identified, thus preventing any infestation from escalating. 

    One of the matters that gets little airing in respect of tobacco insects concerns responsibility. Who is or should be responsible for ensuring tobacco is taken in at its destination—at the manufacturer’s site—insect-free? 

    Well, according to Rainer Busch of NewCo, currently, the shipper is obliged to fumigate tobacco before loading, even though it is very difficult for the shipper to control what happens to that tobacco during transport and when it is opened at its destination. And if the tobacco was found to have insect infestation at its destination, to have been infested during transport, it was necessary to refumigate it or put it through another treatment. It would therefore be better economically and financially to avoid having to carry out two treatments by switching the fumigation or other treatment from the point of shipment to the destination.

    It would seem that while the industry might not be winning the war against insects, it is not losing all the battles. Evripidis Christidis of Missirian told me that the application of integrated pest management techniques was helping the industry to win in the region in which his company operates—the region where classical oriental tobacco is produced. In general, the amount of leaf tobacco currently lost to insects was proportionally less than it had been during past decades. But, he added, this sort of success required close attention being paid in five areas:

    • Personnel training and awareness;
    • Facilities management, including cleaning and sanitation, operating with open structures and creating barriers to insects, such as air curtains and mesh nets, and segmenting the green and final products;
    • Selection of suitable means of transportation;
    • Pest monitoring, with pheromone traps, and the use of UV lamps and space/surface fogging when necessary during tobacco storage; and
    • Pest control methods.

    Another factor that had helped the industry attain better results was the use of only specialized and licensed contractors to perform control and prevention activities, said Christidis. And yet another had been the introduction of Coresta standards for the fumigation in respect of resistant beetle populations, which basically involved higher phosphine concentrations and longer exposure times. A radical but expensive proposal would involve vacuum or nitrogen packing of the final leaf product.

    Learning Lessons

    The importance of Coresta was raised by most respondents, and so it is unfortunate that the Covid-19 pandemic has interfered with some of its work, including the PSMST’s Infestation Control Conferences that, until the pandemic struck, had been held annually around the globe. Of course, there have been other problems caused by the pandemic. Shipping delays have created tobacco transport congestion, and there have been interruptions caused by staff shortages, supply chain difficulties and other transport issues. But the pandemic has also caused a lot of rethinks, some of them positive. Luyten told me that while the start of the pandemic had caused concern, it turned out the past two years had been the best ever for b-Cat’s business. When travelling became almost impossible, it was discovered that internet communications using Teams or Zoom could easily stand in for some face-to-face meetings. “I do hope that everybody is having the same idea,” said Luyten, “that we have learned from this pandemic that travelling, which was a common thing, is not always needed. We all can save a lot of time and help the planet.”

    Which brings us, perhaps, to the most important question. In fighting tobacco insects, are we winning or losing the environmental battle? And there seems to be some good news here. Schmidt told me that industry practices had little negative environmental impact. Beneficial insects were not threatened by current common practices, he said, and phosphine readily broke down in ultraviolet light. At the same time, however, continued training on best practices would help with reducing the improper use of insecticides and excessive fumigant use.

    George Gay is Tobacco Reporter’s European editor, but his territory spans the globe. Based in London, George has covered the tobacco industry since 1982, initially for a U.K.-based publication and since 2004 for Tobacco Reporter. George’s understanding of industry issues, combined with his keen sense of observation and dry wit, have earned him a loyal following among Tobacco Reporter’s readers.
  • Greening the Golden Leaf

    Greening the Golden Leaf

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Independent leaf merchants are working to improve the sustainability of tobacco cultivation.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    With only eight more years to go until most of the United Nations (U.N.) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to be achieved, sustainability is becoming ever more critical in the tobacco sector.

    “In recent years, we have seen sustainability grow in importance to a point where it is addressed in almost all key internal and external engagements,” notes Mat Wilde, head of group sustainability at Contraf-Nicotex-Tobacco (CNT), a Germany-based company involved in the worldwide growing, sourcing, developing, processing, extracting and producing of leaf tobacco, nicotine and natural ingredients, among other agriculturally derived products.

    Set up in 2015 by the U.N. General Assembly, the SDGs comprise 17 goals designed to be a “blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.” Goals include the elimination of poverty and hunger, quality education, health and well-being, gender equality, clean water and sanitation as well as the reduction of inequality, responsible consumption and climate action.

    While the leading international tobacco manufacturers in 2016 launched the Sustainable Tobacco Program (STP), an initiative that operates in more than 52 countries and gathers data on more than 180 suppliers of tobacco across 5 million smallholders, independent leaf merchants have also intensified their endeavors to support tobacco growers in their work toward more sustainable production.

    “I have always supported the growers,” says Rick Smith, founder of Wilson, North Carolina, USA-based Independent Leaf Tobacco Co. “They must be made whole for the industry to thrive. I have stepped up my efforts recently, certainly on types in short supply.”

    CNT works directly with its stakeholders on its sustainability efforts and supports its farmers in implementing best practices. “At the core of our approach with our farmers is our training program, where we aim to train growers on both the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of sustainability topics,” says Wilde. “Understanding the context in each local operation, the root cause of prioritized issues and ensuring farmer financial sustainability is embedded within our programs. All are vital in working with our farmers to meet our common goals. Integrating key stakeholders, including farmers, farmer organizations, community, nongovernmental organizations and experts, within our projects and programs increases the impact and level of success.”

    Rick Smith

    Creating Awareness

    In a world characterized by declining smoking rates, sustainability includes ensuring financial viability for tobacco growers. For this reason, Norton Leaf Tobacco (NLT) of Zimbabwe educates its farmers on the need for diversification. “The government of Zimbabwe has introduced initiatives such as pfumvudza, a farming approach designed to maximize efficiency of labor and input resources,” explains NLT General Manager Alice Mukome Chiwanza. “NLT has field staff trained in the practice that ensures its farmers are able to increase both hectarage and yield of grains. Thus our officers are now training farmers to employ this method to encourage food security at [the] household level while assisting with the growing of the tobacco crop.”

    While NewCo Global Tobacco Trade and Service does not interact directly with farmers (it buys from partners and other leaf merchants), sustainability plays a key role in all of the German company’s activities. In September 2021, the company established NewCo Pro Services and Trade to handle the group’s diversification efforts and nontobacco activities.

    “This company’s main focus is to provide a proactive approach to global, social and environmental challenges as well as partner with entrepreneurs that have innovative solutions for a better future,” says Jose Maria Costa, senior executive advisor with NewCo Tobacco Services. “Through NewCo Pro Services and Trade, we are committed to doing our best efforts to make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals a reality. As such, we are in the process to market Sydney 905 water filters globally. These filters have proved to be one of the most efficient ways to get safe water regardless of water source. By providing access to safe water, we eliminate the need to use charcoal, which in many parts of the world is used to boil the unsafe water.”

    NewCo has also started replacing the plastic bags that are still used in the tobacco industry for tobacco samples with more environmentally friendly alternatives. “Most of the plastic bags that are used today for storing and shipping tobacco samples are not biodegradable and therefore they are not environmentally friendly. After several months of research and testing, we have placed our first order for the new bags, which are made out of potato starch and are 100 percent compostable and food-certified. Our plan is to contact all our suppliers, vendors and customers and offer them the possibility to make the same change NewCo has made and contribute to a world that is more sustainable.”

    Jose Maria Costa

    New EU Anti-Deforestation Law

    Worldwide, regulatory pressure on tobacco and tobacco products continues to increase, also in terms of sustainability issues. On Nov. 17, 2021, the European Commission announced a plan to ban the sale of agricultural products raised on deforested and degraded lands. The move is an attempt to ensure forests around the world remain intact and continue to absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. According to the U.N., the world has lost 420 million hectares of forest in the past 30 years—an area larger than the EU. During the recent U.N. Climate Change Conference, more than 100 states pledged to end deforestation and land degradation by 2030. For the time being, the European Commission’s list targets soy, beef, palm oil, coffee, cocoa and wood; while tobacco is not part of the commodities mentioned, the draft leaves room for future amendments.

    In a 2017 report on the environmental impact of tobacco, the World Health Organization expressed concern about the impact that leaf cultivation has had on forests since the mid-1970s. The health body estimates that 11.4 million tons of wood are required annually for tobacco curing. After processing, additional wood is needed for the production of cigarette and rolling papers as well as for packaging. As tobacco requires lots of nutrients, with soils being leached after two years to three years, land extension leads to further forest depletion.

    Smith notes that regulation should strike a balance. “Any laws restricting free trade affect us all and are usually detrimental to the people they are intended to help,” he says.

    “The tobacco industry needs to act responsibly to ensure that sustainability is at the center of all its activities,” Costa says. “From the farmers to the cigarette manufacturers, the entire value chain needs to protect all natural resources, including the forest.”

    Newco has been marketing Sydney 905 water, which allow users to get safe water regardless of source. (Photo: NewCo)

    Comprehensive Measures

    NLT is a member of the Sustainable Afforestation Association (SAA), a Zimbabwean nonprofit organization funded by tobacco merchants that was established in 2013 (also see “Taking Root“). “NLT has been a member since we started operations in 2018,” says Chiwanza.

    The SAA aims to retain and grow existing indigenous commercial forests. One of the ways in which it has sought to do this is by entering into joint ventures with farmers in tobacco growing areas to set up eucalyptus plantations. Eucalyptus not only grows quickly but also provides good firewood.

    “The bulk of Zimbabwe’s tobacco is grown by small-scale farmers who use wood-fired barns to cure their tobacco,” Chiwanza says. NLT also holds field days and workshops, encouraging farmers to grow trees and offering advice on best practices. SAA’s activities should help Zimbabwe remain compliant with anti-deforestation laws, such as the one pending in the EU.

    Fighting deforestation has been a priority at CNT for years, Wilde emphasizes, primarily for flue-cured tobacco in origins that use fuel wood but also for other tobacco types—with deforestation linked to curing fuel, barn construction material and land clearance. “Addressing deforestation has been a focus prior to external regulation, with necessity of ensuring continuity of the industry in some locations being a key driver for change, along with meeting communities’ expectations of the business and ensuring our ‘social license to operate.’ Having a robust traceability system in place, connecting tobacco to its growing source, farmers and the activities carried out on farm is key for transparency and meeting increasing supply chain legislation—both for human rights and the environment.”

    The company has identified high-risk origins within its supply chain and implemented systems aimed at mitigating deforestation. “The EU draft law on supply chain deforestation highlights the priority of this topic and reinforces the urgency of addressing these issues in high-risk origins, both as a company and as an industry,” says Wilde.

    CNT’s reforestation efforts comprise education and awareness programs for its farmers, community and stakeholders. “Training farmers on legal requirements, conservation and reforestation practices, and listening to our stakeholders on localized issues helps to address deforestation and reforestation,” Wilde points out. “Training is supported by farmer monitoring by Extension staff, the results of which are analyzed to feed back into response projects and training cycles. We run various reforestation and carbon projects within our origins. Tailoring reforestation and conservation response programs to the local context and working with expert partners in addressing the local hurdles to success is core in our sustainability strategy.”

    Spying Opportunity: Norton Has Great Expectations of Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Transformation Plan

    In September 2021, Zimbabwe’s government approved the tobacco value chain transformation plan, which aims to transform the sector, currently valued at $1.2 billion, into a $5 billion industry by 2025. Launched by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), the initiative aims to turn the economy around through agriculture, boosting national income and foreign exchange to the levels from before Zimbabwe’s land reform program, which turned the industry from one dominated by large-scale commercial tobacco plantations to one characterized by smallholder production.

    The plan calls for an increase of annual tobacco production from 200 million kg to 300 million kg, the exploration of alternative crops in anticipation of lower smoking rates and an increase in value addition and beneficiation from 1 percent of the tobacco crop to 30 percent.

    Alice Mukome Chiwanza

    Farmers have welcomed the initiative. “I believe this to be a great idea,” says Alice Mukome Chiwanza, general manager of Norton Leaf Tobacco (NLT), a local tobacco merchant. “Under the TIMB, Zimbabwe only exports at the very least semi-processed tobacco. Further beneficiation can be understood to mean [anything from] increasing the local production of regular—combustible—cigarettes to producing vaping devices. This will do wonders for the tobacco industry as it will mean employment, investments in the form of infrastructure, such as processing plants, and greater revenue as we will be exporting end products as opposed to raw materials that still need further processing.”

    According to Chiwanza, this would also present a welcome opportunity for NLT to grow its sales to supply products, such as cut rag, to local cigarette manufacturers while eliminating shipping costs that have been a large deterrent in exporting. “It may also create the option of partnerships allowing companies such as ours to venture into new technology and therefore [new] markets. The ministry’s plans also include localization of tobacco financing, which should significantly reduce borrowing costs for companies such as NLT. Being a wholly Zimbabwean company, NLT is poised to grab any plans encouraging increased local involvement in the tobacco industry.” – S. R.

    Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.