Magyar Cserkész, 1929 (10. évfolyam, 14. szám)

1929-07-15 / 14. szám

14. szám

MAGYAR CSERKÉSZ

305

THE ACTIVITY OF THE ROYAL HUNGARIAN

TOBACCO MONOPOLY.

After the war-end and under the pressure of the peace Treaty of Trianon which almost ruined Hungary, the work of Reorganisation of the Hungarian Tobacco Monopoly began under the hardest conditions.

Considering the rules of economy, the Managers desired before all, to reconstruct the almost fully damaged tobacco production.

To start with, they tried to receive favourable loans to increase and improve production. This procedure proved rather successful and the total area of tobacco plantation was increased from 35.000 acres in 1919, to 60.000 acres during 1926. The considerable improvement can be easily explained by the fact, that redemption prices for raw tobacco were fixed higher, than gold parity and tobacco production became more lucrative.

Beside the increase of production, the Direction endeavoured to obtain better quality for domestic tobacco. The monopoly-bureau started a propaganda to refine the quality of Hungarian tobacco. This propaganda proved very successful in each part of the country. The tobacco analysis station at Pallag and the Central Botanical Institute of Magyaróvár have taken their share in this tobacco refining process.

The Direction’s work was further very often hampered on the field of the industrial activity. The Hungarian tobacco factories were unable, to supply customers proportionally with the different sorts of the made articles. Especially the quality and the assortment of the cigarettes did nut suit the demand. To abolish this trouble, the monopoly established in 1921 a cigarette factory in Kőbánya. A further help for the tobacco production was the re-building of the tobacco-factory in Pécs in 1923.

To secure the sufficient quantity for the steadily increasing demand of cigarettes, the cigare-factory of Szeged was reorganized for cigarette production in 1926.

After the completion of this big reconstruction-work, the Direction of the Monopoly began with greatest care to enter new types of cigares and cigarettes, suited to the taste of the world market. 7 different kinds of cigares (Royales, Heros, Palatínus, Cabinet, Joviales, Novitas, Turul), and two new cigarettes (Levente and Novara) increased the number of the Hungarian tobacco-products in 1928. These new articles became very popular within a short time.

The export of tobacco commenced in 1920—21, in rather small dimensions at first, of course. Previously Czechoslovakia, France and Geimany purchased smaller quantitises of Hungarian tobacco. During the period 1922—24, the Austrian monopoly further Holland and Poland joined the buyers of the Hungarian tobacco, and a new importer, Belgium, is supplying her demand from ihe Hungarian market since 1926-27.