TABLE 5— GREECE: AVERAGE EXPORT PRICES 

 OF ORIENTAL TOBACCO, 1950-64 



Year 



Average price 



Year Average price ^ 





Dol. per lb. 





Dol. per lb. 



1950 __ 



$0.68 



1957 __ 



$0.61 



1951 __ 



.53 



1958 — 



.61 



1952 __ 



.52 



1959 __ 



.56 



1953 __ 



.36 



1960 __ 



.54 



1954 __ 



.54 



1961 __ 



.56 



1955 — 



.63 



1962 __ 



.68 



1956 __ 



.61 



1963 __ 



.87 







1964 __ 



.77 



1 Average price of exports to all countries (declared ex- 

 port value). 



TABLE 6.— TURKEY: AVERAGE EXPORT PRICES 

 OF ORIENTAL TOBACCO, 1950-63 



Year 



Average price ^ 



Year 



Average price ^ 





Dol. per lb. 





Dol. per lb. 



1950 _- 



$0.56 



1957 _. 







$0.73 



1951 _- 



.56 



1958 - 







.70 



1952 _- 



.50 



1959 _. 





.64 



1953 _. 



.55 



1960 - 







.53 



1954 __ 



.61 



1961 _. 







.47 



1955 _. 



.69 



1962 __ 







.49 



1956 __ 



.72 



1963 - 











.69 



1 Average price of exports to all countries (declared ex- 

 port value). 



for U. S. cigarette manufacturers. The pattern varies 

 by area and countr}'. 



When the tobacco arrives at a manipulation plant, it 

 is examined and stored until it can be put through the 

 whole process on a large-scale assembly-line type of 



operation. The manipulation plant opens bales, sorts 

 tobacco, removes trash, grades the leaves, and packs the 

 graded tobacco into new bales covered with burlap. 

 The bales are placed in storage with a maximum height 

 of about 6 bales. The bales go through a mild fermen- 

 tation which is controlled by rotation in the stack or 

 shifting of bales of tobacco from one floor to another. 



The entire manipulation process takes about 9 

 months. The exportable grades are then ready for sale 

 and export. The shrinkage loss is estimated to range 

 from 10 to 12 percent. 



The lag between the time when the farmer harvests 

 and sells his tobacco and the time when the manipu- 

 lated tobacco is ready for export is approximately a 

 year. This lag results in a crop harvested in any given 

 year not actually becoming an "export figure" until 

 the following year. 



Some American cigarette manufacturers have made 

 changes in the specifications of the grades of oriental 

 tobacco which they desire, and these have a direct 

 effect on marketing. Historically, American buyers 

 bought Grades I and II. So consistent was their buying 

 of Grades I and II that these were often called the 

 American Grades. Today most U. S. importing com- 

 panies are asking that Grades I through III or Grades 

 I through IV be combined. The term "class unique" is 

 used among some trade people to indicate the combined 

 grades. The long-term effect of this departure on 

 tobacco markets in the United States and abroad is 

 difficult to predict. At the outset, it would appear that 

 U. S. cigarette manufacturers would secure their 

 oriental tobaccos at a lower cost per pound, and there 

 would be less of Grades III and IV for some of the 

 countries which have historically been buying these 

 grades. The cost of leaf to these countries which have 

 been buying Grades III and IV might increase slightly, 

 or these purchasers might be forced to buy some of 

 the still lower grades. 



Changes in Markets 



The major change recently taking place has been one 

 in markets for oriental tobacco. Here, the two most 

 important factors are: 



1. The increase in the importance of cigarettes in 

 relation to other tobacco products. 



2. The increase in the manufacture and consump- 

 tion of the American-blend cigarette. 



In connection with these developments, oriental 

 tobacco has contributed to the use of both U.S.-grown 

 tobaccos and U.S.-manufactured cigarettes abroad. 



Output of American-blend cigarettes has been 

 expanding rapidly, in terms both of total consumption 

 and of number of countries which manufacture them. 



The rise in production of American-blend cigarettes 

 has been phenomenal. In 1917, the United States was 

 the only country making them. Today over 50 coun- 

 tries are making American-blend cigarettes or some 

 modification of the blend. Expansion has been wide- 

 spread during the last decade. 



A major factor contributing to rapid expansion of 

 the manufacture and use of the American-blend 

 cigarette was World War II, when American soldiers 

 used them in many areas of the world. Smoking 

 their cigarettes gave rise to local demand for the type, 

 and some countries began to manufacture modifications 

 of the blend. Generally, the manufacture and use of 



— 6 — 



