Tobacco Marketing

Excerpts from the report: Tobacco has been a leading cash crop in the United States since the early 17th century. Production was started on a commercial scale in Virginia and has continued to be concentrated in the Southeastern States where over 90 percent of the present U.S. crop is grown. About 95 percent of the tobacco grown in the United States is sold through "looseleaf" auction warehouses. There has been little or no change in the physical appearance of the auction warehouses since they were introduced in Danville, Va., more than a century ago. However, there has been change in the organization and structure of the tobacco marketing system. The main deviation from the traditional auction warehouse that has occurred in recent years is the introduction of artificially lighted sales floors in the burley belts. Traditional warehouses are illuminated by natural light passing through skylights in the warehouse roof. The main advantage of artificial light is elimination of the variations in natural light that occur from day to day. Disadvantages include high cost of original installation and maintenance as well as problems involved in providing uniform illumination throughout all warehouses. In 1964, there were over 950 tobacco auction warehouses in use, an increase of over 200 since 1945. This increase in sales capacity, among other things, has reduced the length of the marketing season significantly. The form in which tobacco is consumed has changed considerably over the past 30 years. Per capita and total consumption of cigarettes has trended upward rather constantly. The general trend has been a shift from cigars, smoking tobacco, and snuff to cigarettes. Per capita tobacco consumption in all forms has remained fairly stable for the past 20 years.