The European Economic Community, a Com- 

 mon Market comprised of Belgium-Luxembourg, 

 Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, 

 the United Kingdom, and West Germany, is 

 currently the major market area for U.S. tobacco, 

 taking about 40 percent of U.S. leaf exports. 

 Japan is currently the largest individual importer 

 of U.S. tobacco. Other important markets are 

 Australia, Egypt, the Phillippines, Sweden, 

 Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, and Thailand. 



All types of leaf produced in the United States 

 enter into the export trade. But flue-cured tobacco 

 is the predominant type exported, currently 

 accounting for nearly 80 percent of total leaf 

 exports. Burley leaf, the second major type in 

 U.S. production, is also used in blended 

 cigarettes in a number of foreign countries; about 

 8 to 10 percent of this type is normally exported. 

 Fire-cured tobacco led in production and exports 

 during the 19th century and until World War I. The 

 decline in pipe smoking, chewing, and snuff use 

 led to the great expansion in exports, first of flue- 

 cured, and now burley. 



U.S. Exports of Tobacco Products 



The cigarette is by far the leading manufac- 

 tured tobacco product exported from the United 

 States. Relatively small quantities of smoking 

 tobacco, chewing tobacco, and cigars also go 

 into the export market. U.S. manufactured 

 cigarettes go to many foreign countries with the 

 leading ones being Antilles, Belgium-Luxembourg, 

 Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, Kuwait, Netherlands, 



Saudi Arabia, Spain, and West Germany. In 

 recent years, bulk smoking tobacco, blended and 

 prepared for manufacture into cigarettes, has 

 been exported in significant quantities. 



Black Fat is a trade term applied to a unique 

 tobacco form packed exclusively for export. Most 

 of it goes to Benin, Cameroon, Nigeria, and other 

 West African countries. The product consists of 

 one sucker dark air-cured leaf and Kentucky and 

 Tennessee fire-cured. The tobacco is carefully 

 selected, particularly as to length, and tied onto 

 hands of 4 to 6 leaves each. The leaves are put 

 through a series of "sweats" until they are very 

 dark and are then packed under pressure. The 

 final product is sprayed with a mineral oil to add 

 sheen and packed in 1,000 pound crates for 

 shipment. It is used mainly for pipe smoking by 

 native populations but may be used as chewing 

 tobacco or made into snuff. 



A USDA marketing specialist discusses a sample of U.S. 

 tobacco with Chinese tobacco specialists. Foreign buyers 

 frequently request offical certification of their purchases. 



Hogsheads of tobacco are loaded on a ship for export. 



25 



