Tight Supply May Mean Higher US Tobacco Prices This Year
08/15/00
As if huge legal judgments and widespread social opprobrium weren't enough, the major cigarette companies have another issue to contend with now - rising prices for tobacco.
Opening day in the annual auction market for flue-cured tobacco here Monday saw prices climb an average $10.76 per 100 pounds from last year's opening prices. Growers received an average of $189.99 per 100 pounds, a 6% increase from last year. It's too early to judge how high prices will end up this year - opening day sales consist mainly of tobacco held over from last year's harvest - but growers and industry insiders gathered in this city on the Virginia-North Carolina line say higher production costs and a dwindling supply, along with a high-quality crop, will work to boost prices this year.
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