Division 4 The sector concerned: Italian raw tobacco

The production of raw tobacco in the EU represents approximately 5 % of raw tobacco production worldwide. Greece, Italy and Spain are the leading Member States in terms of tobacco produced, covering 38 %, 37,5 % and 12 % of the production in the EU respectively.

Raw tobacco is not a homogeneous product. In Italy, Burley and Bright are the most common varieties. Within each category, different quality grades can be distinguished. After drying, producers sell the tobacco to processors in batches whose price differs depending on the quality of the tobacco they contain.

Italian processors of raw tobacco buy raw tobacco from producers and producers’ associations in Italy (as well as conditioned tobacco from other intermediaries), and process (or re-process) it, and resell it in suitable form to the tobacco manufacturing industry in Italy and worldwide. They are known also as ‘first processors’ for their being first at processing tobacco (as opposed to the second processing done by the cigarettes manufacturers) or ‘tobacco leaf merchants’ for their role of intermediaries between the producers and the final product manufacturer.

The expression ‘exporter’ is generally employed in respect of processors who have threshing equipment, which allows to produce the finished processed product (strips) sought by the cigarette manufacturers. Processors which are only able to produce loose leaves are called ‘third packers’ or simply ‘packers’. After their initial treatment (e.g. removal of impurities and sorting) packers forward the tobacco to exporters for further treatment so that tobacco can be offered to manufacturers. The processors which are addresses of the Decision qualify as ‘exporters’.