MARKETING 



Around 95 percent of the tobacco grown in the United States is marketed 

 by the "loose leaf" auction method. The remaining 5 percent, made up princi- 

 pally of cigar- leaf tobacco, is sold either directly on the farms or through 

 farmer-owed cooperatives. A small quantity is sold in hogsheads. 



The modern version of the loose-leaf auction system first appeared in 

 Danville, Va. , shortly before the Civil War. Following the conflict, the sys- 

 tem came to be widely accepted throughout the rapidly-expanding flue-cured 

 belt in the North Carolina and Virginia areas. Auction marketing was intro- 

 duced in the Kentucky and Tennessee areas at Clarksville, Tenn. , in 1901. 



AUCTION METHOD OF SELLING 



Growers deliver their tobacco to the auction warehouse of their choice, 

 where it is sold to the highest bidder. The bidders are buyers for manufac- 

 turers, dealers, and exporters, as well as independent dealers or speculators. 

 The auction system is of vast proportions, providing facilities for handling 

 nearly 2 billion pounds of tobacco annually, mostly during the period from 

 August through February. 



The length and period of the marketing season varies for the different 

 types of tobaccos, and, to some extent, from year to year. The selling begins 

 when the Georgia and Florida flue-cured markets open toward the end of July of 

 the year of production, and ends when sales in Maryland are completed in the 

 latter part of June of the year following production. The season is so stag- 

 gered that it is possible to find an auction sale in progress in some area al- 

 most any time during the year. The following chart shows the approximate mar- 

 keting periods for the types sold at auction: 



APPROXIMATE PERIODS OF TOBACCO 

 AUCTION MARKETING SEASONS 



CLASS & TYPE 



JUL. 



AUG. 



SEPT. 



OCT. 



NOV. 



DEC. 



JAN. 



FEB. 



MAR. 



APR. 



MAY 



JUNE 



JUL. 



Flue-cured: 





























14 





























13 





























12 





























11 (b) 





























11 (a) 





























Burley: 





























31 





























Fire-cured: 





























21 





























22 





























23 















w^m 











Dark air-cured: 





























35 





























36 





























37 





























Maryland: 

























* 





32 





























.S. DEPARTMEN 



AGRICULTURE 



RKETING SERVICE 



AMS193-72(10) 



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