CIGAR TOBACCO YIELDS BY TYPE 



CONNECTICUT VALLEY SHADE GROWN (TYPE 61) 



GEORGIA-FLORIDA SHADE GROWN (TYPE 62) 



UT 



1951 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71 



U.S. OEPRHTNENT OF BGRICULTURE 



NEG.EM B97B-72I11) ECONOMIC HESERRCH SERVICE 



Figure 13 



ACREAGE PROSPECTS 



Over the next few years, the downtrend in cigar 

 tobacco acreage is likely to continue. Farm prices are 

 a major factor affecting acreage of cigar tobacco 

 production, but leaf-economizing techniques of 

 manufacturers and increasing competition from 

 imports point to little increase in farm tobacco prices. 



Consumers have switched from large to smaller, 

 thinner, and filter-tipped cigars and cigarillos that 

 require less tobacco leaf per unit of product. 

 Reconstituted sheet tobacco, now substituted widely 

 for natural binder and used increasingly for wrapper, 

 offers substantial savings both in leaf use and labor 

 cost. Therefore, manufacturers are likely to expand 

 its use rather than pay higher prices to increase 

 tobacco production. Use of sheet tobacco that offers 

 both potential leaf and labor savings is attractive to 

 manufacturers. Some cigar leaf goes into loose leaf 

 chewing tobacco, but substantial increases in total 

 cigar leaf use are unlikely. 



Imports of cigar filler leaf and scrap have risen 



since the early 1960's to supply over half of the cigar 

 leaf market. They will probably continue to increase 

 and subject farm prices to pressure. 



Since cigar tobacco production requires large 

 amounts of labor, farm and nonfarm wage trends 

 significantly affect acreage. Wages have doubled 

 over the past two decades, and some upward trend 

 will probably continue. Mechanized harvest of shade- 

 grown tobacco seems improbable. Changes in filler 

 and binder production probably depend on 

 mechanization and other developments in burley 

 tobacco — the chief air-cured type — and may be many 

 years away. As more nonfarm jobs' become available 

 and workers' skills increase, many growers will 

 continue to leave tobacco farms for other jobs. 

 Nonfarm wage rates are higher. Also, nonfarm work 

 is generally easier, steadier, and carries fringe 

 benefits. Changes in tobacco allotment programs 

 may increase acreage slightly in the short run, but as 

 labor becomes more costly and scarce, the effect will 

 probably be small over time. 



13 



