PHL posts 26% increase in Q1 tobacco production

The Philippines posted a 26-percent increase in total tobacco production during the first quarter of 2011, the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) said Sunday. NTA Administrator Edgardo Zaragoza said the country was able to produce an additional 15,915 metric tons (MT) of tobacco from January to March this year, increasing total production to 73,767 MT from 58,572 at the same period last year. He added that the country also increased its tobacco yield per hectare to 2,189 kilograms from 1,931 percent last year. Zaragoza attributed the rise in tobacco production to technological and marketing assistance provided by his agency to farmers under the Market-Driven Quality Tobacco Production program—a component of the NTA’s Integrated Farming and Other Income-Generating Activities Project. The program has already benefited a total of 54,337 families tilling 38,275 hectares of tobacco in the country, according to the NTA chief. — Andreo C. Calonzo/KBK, GMA News