Continental Tobacco Group’s Open Day for Tobacco Producers was held on 18 January at the Rákóczi Hotel in Sátoraljaújhely. The focus of the event was the current situation of tobacco production, which the participants were able to view from various perspectives – innovation, sustainability – through professional presentations. With this traditional open day, Continental aims to counteract the decline in tobacco production that has been observed for years, both globally and domestically, by providing a professional, formal and informal platform for growers.

Unique in the domestic tobacco market, Continental Tobacco Group’s operations are vertically integrated and cover the full spectrum of tobacco-related activities. As a result, Continental is committed to counteracting the declining trends in the market as much as possible and to preserving the long-established Hungarian tobacco growing culture, which has a long history at the global level.

The annual Tobacco Growers’ Open Day is an important part of this effort, providing a unique opportunity for growers to share their experiences and even meet with experts on topics such as illicit trade, specialty tobaccos and mind-altering drugs.

The Open Day was opened by Csaba Füzi, CEO of Continental Tobacco, highlighting the company’s commitment to supporting the tobacco growing community. The first half of the event consisted of technical presentations covering topics such as tobacco control, challenges in farming and crop protection, and innovative solutions for sustainable tobacco production. Among the speakers were renowned experts such as Tamás Vincze and Róbert Csaba Szirmai, heads of the criminal and law enforcement departments of the National Tax and Customs Administration, and Tibor Orosz, member of the Continental Tobacco Group responsible for tobacco cultivation and head of development at DOFER Tobacco Fermentation Zrt. Zoltán Szentirmay, Head of the Agricultural Subsidies Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, provided information on the future of cultivation subsidies.

The presentations were followed by a lunch break, after which the participants were able to get acquainted with the production processes of the tobacco factory in Sátoraljaújhely, which has a history of more than 130 years.

Csaba Füzi, CEO of Continental Tobacco Industry Ltd., which owns the tobacco factory in Sátoraljaújhely, said that Continental Tobacco Industry Ltd. is committed to nurturing the domestic tobacco culture, promoting the development of the tobacco market and overcoming the professional challenges of producers. He also stressed that the 50% increase in the basic tobacco purchase price was implemented last year in this spirit, and this effort is reinforced by the Producer Open Day, which serves as a knowledge platform to connect the domestic tobacco growing community.