Speculative Resales of Maryland Tobacco

Excerpts from the report Introduction: Maryland speculators receive more than one-half million dollars in gross income from each year's tobacco crop. For the purpose of this study, a speculator is defined as a person purchasing tobacco for immediate resale in the hope of making a profit. Maryland speculators who purchase for immediate resale may be divided into four groups: (1) Pinhookers, who buy tobacco on the auction floor and resell it on the auction floor; (2) transfer buyers, who purchase tobacco on the farm where it is grown and sell it either on the auction market or on the hogshead market; (3) warehousemen, who buy tobacco on the auction market and resell it on the auction market; and (4) those who operate as both transfer buyers and pinhookers. Results of this study have been made available to the Maryland Tobacco Authority, which regulates the Maryland tobacco auctions. On the basis of these findings, that agency is tightening up its regulations and its inspection of the operation of the markets. This should result in more efficient operation of the markets and in lower speculative margins. Reduced speculative margins may give farmers a better opportunity to retain part of the margins for themselves.