admin
Michael Magoronga
Local cigarette producing company, Pacific Cigarette Company (PCC) formerly Savannah Tobacco Company, has partnered a top Chinese government owned tobacco company in a move that will see local cigarettes being sold on the global market.
Talks between PCC, formerly Savannah Tobacco Company, one of the largest tobacco company in the country and China Tobacco Shaanxi Industrial Corporation (CTSIC) are said to have been going on for the past year and the deal was necessitated by ties and trade agreements between the two nations.
Sources confirmed that, sticking point that have been stalling progress in the talks, have since been ironed out and a signing ceremony is pencilled for tomorrow (Friday) in the capital.
In a statement, PCC confirmed that the signing ceremony was on.
“After concluding talks with a Chinese company, China Tobacco Shaanxi Industrial Corporation (CTSIC), we are glad to announce the signing ceremony at a local hotel set for Friday 7 December 2018,” read part of the statement.
CTSIC is located Xian, Shaanxi Province and is a regional subsidiary of the Chinese National Tobacco Company (CNTC) which owns and regulates all tobacco-related industries in China.
The Chinese company has more than 5 000 employees and produces about 85 billion cigarettes annually.
Founded in 2002, PCC has dominated the Zimbabwe cigarette industry and has since broken into the regional market with operations in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia and a distribution footprint across the region.
The company is the manufacturer of the Pacific brand of cigarettes which include Pacific Storm, one of the country’s and region’s leading cigarettes brands.
PCC is credited for pioneering the contract tobacco farming in the country where about 85 000 new small scale farmers benefited from the scheme.
If successful, this agreement will be the first joint ventures in Africa between a Chinese owned tobacco and an African cigarette manufacturer.
Bongani Ndlovu