TDR

Rovinj/Virovitica, 10th September 2008 - Croatian tobacco producers will mark the 11th of September, the traditional Tobacco Fields Day. This is a unique event, which will be held in the area of Virovitica and Kutjevo, and will gather tobacco growers, buyers and production experts in order to present achievements in production and to improve the production process, yields and quality of tobacco. Through this year's event, Croatia will be presented as one of the most important European tobacco producers.

Specifically, Croatia produces about 4 percent of total tobacco produced in Europe. According to quality and yield of dry-farm crops, Croatia is the number one producer in Europe. About 2,500 farms are engaged in tobacco production, and the company Hrvatski duhani, which operates within Adris grupa, ensures quality of production and guarantees sales of the crop. About 6,000 hectares produce 12,000 to 14,000 tons of tobacco a year, and the total value of the produced tobacco is about 200 million kunas. For comparison’s sake, this is about 25 percent of the value of wheat production, 50 percent of sugar beet production, or 60 percent of wine production. It is especially important to point out that about 40 percent of produced Croatian tobacco is exported while the remaining part ends in TDR’s cigarettes. TDR production system "from seed to smoke", which integrates science, countryside manufacturers, tobacco processing and cigarette industry, has ensured stable yield, quality and economic security for Croatian tobacco growers. Croatia has become the only country in continental Europe which has maintained the same level of tobacco production in the past 10 years.

Due to constant investments in the development of its own varieties (such as DH17 and DH27, which have become quality standards in the tobacco industry of the Region) in collaboration with scientists from the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb, and due to improvement made in the production technology, Croatia - thanks to Hrvatski duhani – has become the important world producer of quality tobacco. The fact that Hrvatski duhani, as a part of TDR, will be developing a new concept of tobacco production in foreign markets of which Iran is already agreed upon, confirms success of the company’s know-how. According to General Manager of Hrvatski duhani Mirko Boić, about 160 tobacco growers from Podravina and Slavonija, representatives of the local government and self-government, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, the Faculty of Agriculture and other scientific institutions from Zagreb and Osijek have confirmed their attendance to this year's Tobacco Fields Day.

The traditional guests of Tobacco Fields Day are also tobacco buyers from many countries worldwide, which confirms reputation of Croatian tobacco production in the world. This year tobacco buyers from Italy, France, Poland, Greece, Germany, Brazil and Singapore will visit Virovitica and Kutjevo to obtain “first-hand” information about quantity and quality of this year's tobacco crop, which is, according to Boić, of extremely high quality. As part of this year's Tobacco Fields Day, round table discussions will be held on issues regarding this year’s tobacco production.