Moldova Tutun expects 2008 to be a cornerstone year for the tobacco industry

Petru Tarata, director of the Moldova Tutun Agency, hopes that 2008 will be a cornerstone year for the tobacco industry. During Monday’s regional meeting of tobacco producers, processors and exporters, Petru Tarata said the Agency set in vision a challenging but achievable objective for 2008 – to plant tobacco on 6,200 ha and to harvest 10,200 tonnes. Meeting the target would mean profits of up to 800 million lei per year from this industry, transfers to the state budget of up to 180 million lei, and more jobs for citizens. The measures undertaken in recent years by the government to revitalise the tobacco industry didn’t pay off. The situation grew worse in the last two years because of the unfavourable weather and because of the ban on exports of tobacco to Russia.