Tobacco
In Turkish times tobacco was grown in several parts of the Island, though not to any large extent.
"For centuries it was produced in many districts of the Island, and particularly in the Karpas, near Kilani, Omodhos and Paphos, but from the time it became an article of monopoly its production was subjected to rigorous restrictions, and its cultivation has been entirely abandoned." (Reports, pt. ii. (1896), P. Gennadius).
The quantity grown before the occupation appears to have been very fluctuating and to have averaged about 56,000 lb. annually, and the Government revenue, according to British Consular reports, would not have been more than £300 to £400 per annum. The Régie was introduced in 1874, but owing to the hampering restrictions the industry had been pretty well crushed out by the time of British occupation in 1878. Meanwhile the revenue from tobacco, imported mainly from Volo and Salonica, increased greatly.
The monopoly ceased at the British occupation, but the regulations and imposts remained. Those responsible for controlling the industry, collecting dues, and checking illicit consumption had a troublesome task, while on the other hand the cultivator became averse to engaging in a cultivation which was hedged round with so many restrictions and formalities.
These exist at the present time and may here be quoted:
The grower has to notify the Customs authorities of his intention to sow, giving the locality and area. Before picking he must again notify the Customs, so that a Customs officer may be present at the picking and weigh the freshly picked leaves. After storing, but before delivering the tobacco to the factory, the Customs officer must again weigh the now dry leaves.
The excise duties leviable are: Tobacco leaf, 4½cp. per oke, payable on transfer of leaf from grower to wholesale dealer. Tobacco manufactured in Cyprus, whether made into cigarettes or otherwise, in addition to the import duty or transport duty, pays a banderolle duty of 3s. 6½cp. per oke.
These regulations are a relic of the Turkish times, as in those days the State received a definite due called "City Toll" by charging the tobacco cutters and tobacco sellers with a trade tax. They appear to have been administered with more laxity in Turkish than in post-occupation times, and it is said that the abandonment of tobacco cultivation was mainly due to the severity with which these rather vexatious and irritating regulations were enforced.
For many years the tobacco imported by local cigarette manufacturers came almost entirely from Macedonia. This tobacco was of very superior quality and cheap, and locally grown tobacco could not compete with it. Of late years the price of Macedonian tobacco has risen considerably and the manufacturers have therefore been induced to import Thessalian tobacco instead, which is not of so fine a flavour and approximates more closely to Cyprus produce. Cypriot smokers have thus had their palates prepared for the flavour of the locally grown tobacco.