Ontario tobacco growers light up

BEIJING— One third of China’s 1.3 billion people smokes.

It’s a habit Fred Neukamm, president of the Ontario FlueCured Tobacco Growers’ Marketing Board, doesn’t want them to give up any time soon.

“ As you are aware the domestic situation is not very favourable and we see export opportunities as being very, very important,” said Neukamm, who is with a 125- person Ontario trade mission to China led by Premier Dalton McGuinty. With the province about to ban smoking in all public places — including bars — by the spring of next year, and with people generally being more health conscious, smoking has dropped substantially. China produces about two trillion cigarettes a year and is increasing each year by about 50 billion cigarettes. It imports about 3,000 tonnes of tobacco from Ontario annually, representing more than 10 per cent of the provincial crop.

“ We have been doing business for a number of years and we continue to try and enhance that,” said Neukamm, estimating it has been four years since the marketing board began exporting to China. Neukamm said the marketing board wants a “ stable commitment” for imports.

“ It has been steadily increasing the last couple of years and now it has levelled off. We hope to maintain where we are at now with some slight increases in the future . . . it is one of the places in the world where . . . actual total volume of usage is increasing," he said.

In Ontario, roughly 60 per cent of tobacco production goes for domestic use and 40 per cent for export. McGuinty said he saw no contradiction in bringing the tobacco marketing board along when his government has passed such tough anti- smoking rules.

“ They asked if they might come and we are not going to discriminate . . . and they are going to be doing whatever they can to help promote their products in this country,” said McGuinty, who avoided using the word tobacco.