NEW ZEALAND TOBACCO

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 140, 15 June 1928, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND TOBACCO

fA •■ • • ;-} A-..WORD OF CAUTION | .'V: -- •• ?*] MAKKET PROSPECTS •?,>'■ '.'■■■■■ iii[\ A wordf of caution in regard to tlio H? growing of tobacco in New Zealand iji was uttered by tho Ministor. of Agrisy culturo (the Hon. O. J. llawken) on j.*,j Wednesday.,, while commenting on the l%\ results of tests of locally-produced to\A bacco recently sent to London., fi Mr. Haw-ken said that a small con- ;•! signment of 102(3 leaf of ■ different Jj| grades was sent to London for the JN comments of the trade on its quality ■£ and suitability for the English mar- &' kct. Tho report received from London ■|. on tho shipment was in every way sat-s-.S isfactory. Criticisms were made on tho fa grading, packing, and excessivo niois--4,- tui-o content of tho tobacco, but those jjj. wcro faults that could bo readily •f avoided in future consignments. -M. The net contents of tho cases and ■ft prices were as under: 1851b bright leaf, h; 2s 2d per lb; 19GIb bright leaf, Is lOd i^ per lb; 751b best air-cured, Is Cd per ;t lb; 651b air-cured leaf, Is 3d per lb; v£i 1771b dark flue-cured leaf, lOd per lb. M Tho net proceeds of tho shipment were O £287 Is 4d. yj. "VEKY GOOD PROSPECT." || 111 regard to a consignment of bright 't£ ilue-cured leaf; the manufacturer who 4J ■* purchased the tobacco reported that on j'^ examination and tests ho found it iw rather brittle in places, due to uneven ii curing, but the flavour "was excellent. p ; "It is tho best colonial tobacco wo $f havo tested, and closely approximates 'ff, v medium grado of Virginia loaf," lie |5r declared. In regard to packing, a tt serious fault was noted, but generally iH tho opinion expressed was that tho j>- grade in question would blend well J> with tho Virginia leaf for cigarette '/i tobaccos, and properly cured and pack;jM ed in good condition should fetch from £1 Is 10d to 2s per lb, c.i.f., London warehouse. |'i The quality of the case of dark.fluo§y cured leaf was reported to bo unsatis"jS factory, and its flavour was described i« as rank and coai-Eo. ■$ "A sound, good-bodied type of leaf £?'■, with character," was the description 2?j applied to a second lot of bright flue- ' 4* cured leaf, the packing condition of which, however, was stated to be tho |.J worst of all. The grado would blend Jt| well with. Virginia leaf for both cig%s' arettos and pipe tobacco. Properly fj\ graded in colour and i^aeked in good £j condition, it should fetch from 2s to i." J 2s 2d per lb. 7j Cool and sweet-smoking was said to 1C" come- from tho first-grade air-cured leaf, r* which, was described as being sound, ',<*! with good body and character, which /'■ would blend with semi-bright Virginia r\* loaf for pipe tobaccos. Tho market A' would be limited, with prices varying :*, from Is to Is Cd per lb. £; Similar genoral remarks wcro made »t with respect to the second grade air- '!.' cured leaf, the price of which was put '■»' at lOd to Is 3d, according to demand. V "As a whole," continued the report i;' of the expert, "these tobaccos compare ;>;; favourably with other colonial tobac'?H cos, and moro closely approximate A American leaf than the majority of ?.|. them. With skilled grading, curing, and M handling there should bo. a very good '■il prospect for them at the prices sugjj gested." ; NEED FOR CAUTION. ■j'J ICotwitst-nnding tho advices ■rceciv"i cd from London, said the Minister, the ■ i project oi' tobacco culture should bo defl voloped with caution, since tho pro•<j duction of leaf of a quality suitablo '$ for export called for experience and ?. lJ skill. The Department of Agriculture c-M was receiving numerous inquiries from S3 settlers who were desirous of taking ';*! up that class of farming; but, in order ;3 to guard against possible disappoint'l mont in tho future, practically all let- « 1 tors of advice dispatched by the Doi\ partment on tho subject included a "is warning. This was to the effect that vl tho success which had attended tho proj| duction of tobacco leaf in certain parts ii 3 of Now Zc'aland was mainly limited to $ the fact that with proper care from tho cultural and curing points of view, ,'ijj a leaf of good appearance could bo rvi produced; but the main essential to ',?] success —the appreciation of the loaf on '* the London market—was still lacking. t;J The consignment of, leaf forwarded to ;', London was in tho nature of samples, Vv and although tho report was- encourag- %■ ing, tho quantity was insufficient to Cf indicate at all reliably what kind of S reception, tho leaf would meet with if \h shipped in bulk. Further testing of the It* London market should be done, but jy1 only with leaf well grown (md cured, '\\ otherwise our prospects on that market I? were likely to be permanently ruined, fi INSTRUCTION NECESSARY. ',;: Tha requirements for tho production of a high-grade- leaf suitablo for export, :h said Mr. Hawken, were very exacting *k until the grower had had at least one Xi season's experience, continued the De- •?!' partment's notice, and consequently a ■& great deal of personal instruction was l"j\ practically a necessity. Such advice Y v :\ would no doubt be made generally •A available, in tho event of a payable y-0, export trade being assured, but in the *-J meantime it must of necessity be mainly M restricted to those districts where to'k< bacco was already being grown in ;,ii quantity. In tho circumstances no far-' »{ jner should embark on the culture of \$ tobacco beyond a few hundred plants (-p,. for testing purposes, unless he had a contract with a local firm for tho purfi. chase of his crop, or was so situated $ as to conveniently receive the advice and assistance of the Department's in•vj structor in tobacco culture.