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Cigars

Problems, cigar rollers are facing

Cigare are one of the most important tobacco products and are the most labour intensive one. In the cigar industry, production, profits, and power are highly concentrated. Just a few corporations control the majority of the international cigar production. Meanwhile, it is hard for cigar rollers in small cigar factories to earn a living, and they often work in difficult conditions. In mostof the cigar producing countries, jobs are often insecure, with short-term contracts, offer low wages and no benefits.

It is estimated that only between 1-3% of total conventional cigar revenue returns to the workers in large factories. Between 7-10% of the total revenue of cigars produced in small factories return to the rollers.

No direct access to the market

Many small producers are unaware of the changing value of their cigars and do not have direct access to the important markets for cigars in North America or Europe . Because of this they are frequently paid much lower than market prices for their cigars by middlemen or large trading companies.

Raw Tobacco

Problems, tobacco growers are facing

Raw tobacco is big business and remains one of the most valuable primary products from third world countries. However, for many of the world’s millions of tobacco farmers, tobacco is a labour intensive crop that frequently yields very little financial return.

Tobacco is also enormously valuable to the economies of many developing countries. For some of the world’s Least Developed Countries, such as Nicaragua, the cultivation of tobacco accounts for a major share of foreign exchange earnings. Most of the tobacco-dependent workers worldwide are in developing countries, especially Brazil, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Mexico.

Chemical sprays

The typical tobacco plantation in Central America uses 10 kilograms of active pesticides per hectare annually, 3 times more than intensive agriculture in industrialized countries. These chemical sprays have a very serious impact on the health of workers and people who live in the area, as well as for the surrounding wildlife.

Moreover, as a result of the low prices for raw tobaccon over the past decades, the daily life of many plantation workers and small farmers in producer countries is deteriorating. In many plantations, work days can be very long, often between 12 to 14 hours with unpaid overtime. The majority of workers don’t have any work security or protection against the numerous lay-offs, and many employers only offer short contracts of 6 months or less.

Benefits of Fairtrade for producers

Fairtrade standards for tobacco and cigars act as a safety net against the unpredictable market. They provide security to tobacco growers and cigar rollers, ensuring that they will always get a price that covers their costs of sustainable production.

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