3 3-year archive Site index About us Autos Backyard Univ. Business News Business Dir. Staff file photo Tobacco buyers bid during opening day at Carolina Tobacco Warehouse in Clinton. Philip Morris wants to move away from the auctions in favor of contracting directly with growers. Farmers are uneasy about the plan.
Farmers say they are concerned, even frightened, by the proposal.
Philip Morris planned to start contracting on an experimental basis with farmers for their tobacco. Currently, growers bring the leaf to market and sell to the highest bidder in an auction system that they have used for decades. We're having difficulty getting the kind of tobacco we need,'' explained Kim Farlow, the company's manager of communications. Philip Morris thinks contracting can ease the problems, according to past company statements. The company buys about half the tobacco raised in the United States and sells about half the nation's cigarettes.