02 juillet 2009
Value of unprocessed tobacco
The value of unprocessed tobacco production in 1999 was US$1 100 billion, over 9 times the value for 1970, an increase only partly attributable to increased production.
Comparing domestic prices with international prices, using the so-called Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC), gives an estimate of the magnitude of market price distortion resulting from agricultural policies. During the 1970s, domestic and international price trends for unprocessed tobacco were very similar, in both direction and magnitude. However, in the first half of the 1980s, domestic prices declined while international prices were increasing slightly, tobacco producers were taxed rather than being supported. In contrast, in the 1990s, domestic prices began increasing faster than international prices indicating that protection to producers was increasing.