New Areas Must Be Opened to Tobacco Shops
When you see an article about tobacco or tobacco, you will see that the first paragraph probably begins with one of the following sentences. “For the history of the world, tobacco began with Christopher Columbus in the 1500s, it was produced within the borders of the Ottoman Empire in the 1600s, the number of users increased despite the prohibitions, after the 1850s, it was tried to be managed economically, the Duyun-u General and Reji Administration, the rangers the republican period, new regulations were made under the İnhisarlar Administration, many legal arrangements were made on tobacco, the state to sell to the additional base, support purchases, 3 dollars per kilogram for imported tobacco and 40 cents / dollar fund per package since 1986. the use of five hundred thousand tobacco producers in our country, 2 million people related to the tobacco sector, 15 law sanctions in 15 days, the new tobacco law, alternative product studies, with the privatization of the sector abandoned to foreigners, the number of producers dropped to sixty thousand after the contracted production, the ban on smoking in closed areas, the tobacco producers were left unattended, the tobacco producers lost their immigrants, the migrating tobacco producers disappeared in the suburbs of the metropolitan cities, they died in the mines in Soma, the sale of cigarettes to those under the age of 18 was prohibited, Issues such as cigarette smuggling, pirated tobacco products, zeroing funds from imported tobacco, an operation against those who sell smuggled tobacco, the actions of tobacco producers in Adıyaman and Malatya, and the practice of black packs in the sale of cigarettes.
Tobacco loved the Anatolian people, countryside and countryside. Although he sometimes saw the water, he quickly got rid of it. Tobacco is a labor-intensive, difficult and demanding job. There is no place untouched by human hands at every point of production. Help is awaited even from the children when the business is at its busiest. In the summer months of Crimea, life passes in the field. Bread is eaten with sacred (tar-pitched) hands. These are the days when sleep cannot be fooled and sought. All purchases were made from tobacco sales and weddings, from crop to crop stores, and their money was paid after the tobacco sale. Short Maltepe and long Samsun cigarettes, all of which were produced from domestic tobacco, were widely consumed. Social, cultural and economic contributions of tobacco were also enormous. There was a trace and contribution of tobacco production in every brick of every house built in districts, towns, villages, the bride's dowry, the child's education, the tractor, the plow, the road, every stone of the pavement. Sometimes it played an important role in the recognition and promotion of the district, town and village. Akhisar tobacco, Sındırgı tobacco, Akçaabat tobacco, Bafra tobacco, Bitlis tobacco, Sason tobacco, Agonia tobacco, as well as the tobacco of places where we can mention many more names, tobacco became a sought-after and desired product.
The state ruled tobacco as a social plant alongside its economic power. He used it in elections. Although he was not in need of it, he allowed tobacco production in many parts of the country. Tobacco business was occasionally mismanaged. In the 90's, a lot of effort was made to distinguish between these two friends, the cultivator, and the tobacco. With the new tobacco law of 2002, Turkish tobacco business has entered a new era. What happened in this process, which consumes tobacco and tobacco, shows that those old days will gradually be forgotten.
The above are real stories that have happened. We can expand these stories further. Tobacco is the livelihood of many of our families today as it was yesterday. Tobacco, which remains only in rural areas, has difficulty feeding its producers due to rising production costs. It is the high amount of advances given by tobacco companies during the production phase that keeps the producer alive. In 2018, 51 thousand producers, 935 thousand hectares to 80 thousand tons contracted, as well as East and Southeast Anatolia Region and 9 thousand producers of 50 thousand hectares in 11 thousand tons alone kıyılıp which can be smoked tobacco has produced no contract. When the farmer encounters any problem, he applies to the relevant Chambers of Agriculture.
Once, it was producing in the village of five hundred thousand tobacco producers at the beginning of its field. Farmers who quit tobacco production had to migrate to cities-metropolitan cities. They disappeared in the suburbs of the metropolitan cities , as the jobs that the farmer knew did not make any profit in the city. Regardless, it is a wise way to keep the remaining tobacco producer in his village and to continue his business, tobacco production. Smoking is harmful to health. It is essential to keep our children and young people away from smoking. However, smoking and cigarette consumption in our country is an undeniable reality. The economic aspect of the business is also very large.
What can be done?
1-With imported cigarettes, which were first smuggled into the country in the 70's and 80's and started in 1986, our addicts were accustomed to American type cigarettes. Secondly, the global capital started to smother TEKEL in its own smoke by making the imported cigarettes marketed by TEKEL. Afterwards, blend cigarettes (blend with sauce) started to be produced domestically with the factories established in the 1990s. Wanting to keep up with the new trend, TEKEL Enterprises tried to maintain its presence in the market with TEKEL 2000 and TEKEL 2001 cigarettes by importing virginia and burley tobacco produced by American, Brazilian and Zimbabwean tobacco producers. As a result of the privatization, the sector came under the control of foreigners. All of the cigarettes produced and consumed in our country are blend cigarettes made from imported tobacco, and the production of Turkish type cigarettes has also ended. Our smokers, who consumed 100 thousand tons of cigarettes in 2019, spent approximately 77.2 billion TL (13 billion USD).
It is almost impossible to turn our smokers back to Turkish type cigarettes. Tobaccos produced in the Aegean Region can be added to blend cigarette blends between 10 and 15%. This feature limits the consumption of tobacco. During the privatization of TEKEL in 2008, the requirement that locally produced tobacco should be added to cigarette blends to a certain extent should have been brought in the name of protection of the producer. Virginia and burley tobaccos are produced in provinces such as Adapazarı, Düzce, Kırklareli, Balıkesir, and production continues in some places with 2,500 tons of production. Alternatively, provinces such as Batman should be included in production and new production routes should be opened for our farmers. The virginia and burley tobacco used in the production of B lend cigarettes should be produced in wider areas domestically, and legal regulations should be made to allow a certain proportion of domestically produced tobacco into blends. For example, in Lebanon, cigarette companies are obliged to purchase domestically produced tobacco for the amount they sell. In our country, the requirement to buy domestic leaf tobacco at a rate of at least 1/3, the opportunity offered to foreign leaf tobacco producers on a gold tray should be given to Turkish farmers again, and high added value should be provided.
2- In addition, the $ 3 fund, which was set in 1986 to protect the producer who would be damaged by the first tobacco import and unfortunately not used for this purpose, was zeroed in 2019. It is a necessity for sustainable tobacco agriculture that the fund to be purchased from imported tobacco at a cent scale is given as a premium to tobacco produced domestically.
3-Tobacco Law in Article 6 of "those who want to produce tobacco products in Turkey; It is understood that only global capitals can establish cigarette factories with the expression “it is necessary to establish facilities with full and new technology, including tobacco preparation departments, whose annual production capacity is not less than two billion pieces for cigarettes and fifteen tons for other tobacco products in a single shift”. With an amendment to the tobacco law, the amount of cigarette production should be reduced and small and medium-sized capital groups should also enter the cigarette sector. In our Eastern and Southeastern Regions (such as Adıyaman, Malatya, Bitlis, Muş, Batman, Diyarbakır), an average of 11 thousand tons of tobacco is produced annually without a contract. These produced tobaccos are minced and sold illegally. The shredded tobacco sector continues its activities away from all kinds of control and with tax losses. Especially with the small and medium sized cigarette factories to be established in these regions, the minced tobacco sector will be integrated into the industry and controlled.
4-Again, in the 6th article of the Tobacco Law, it is stated that "Only tobacco producers in the centers designated by the Ministry of Agriculture where tobacco varieties capable of being minced and smoked are produced alone are not required to establish facilities with full and new technology in the production facilities of spiral chopped tobacco products to be established by the cooperatives." Regulations have been made for the shredded tobacco sector. In this sense, the regulation , operation and control of the sector is progressing very slowly. Less tax should be collected from tobacco products produced by cooperatives when they are operational.
The above-mentioned small-to-medium-sized lowering down the number of annual production capacity for the establishment of cigarette factories, they produce cigarette factories within the country produced in at least 1/3 of the country to non-domestic and global ex-tobacco put obligation, less on imported tobacco, albeit fund the implementation of Turkey ' will pave the way for the tobacco industry. It is not easy to make regulations in favor of farmers and producers in the tobacco law, which was enacted by the IMF and global capital with 15 laws in 15 days. However, it must be the duty of the governments to keep the farmer in his village at the head of his field and to ensure his subsistence.
What happened to the tobacco producer in the near future will also happen to the sugar beet producer. Nowadays, hemp and flax plants are presented as "miracle plants ", it is said that textile-automotive, oil and fiber will be used. Maybe after 15-20 years someone will come out and say. "It was a miracle plant. They called it sugar beet. The sugar rate and added value were also high. It provides employment for many people from farmers to truckers, from workers to livestock producers." While 50 types of Turkish tobacco were produced in the 80s-90s, nowadays it can be produced as much as the fingers of a hand.
Those who switched to alternative production quit tobacco years ago. In fact, the alternative to tobacco is immigration. Investment for the farmer who migrated to the city is more expensive than keeping the farmer at the head of his 5-10 decare field. Taking the relevant measures will make our farmers living in the villages both happy and not cut off from production. 20.01.2020