BURLEY tobacco farmers in Pangasinan are also suffering from the unusual early rains sometime in January this year that resulted in negligible harvest of tobacco leaf product.

This was disclosed by Mayor Manuel Collado of Alcala, one of the biggest burly tobacco-producing towns in Pangasinan today.

Like in Ilocos Sur where millions of pesos worth of Virginia tobacco plants were destroyed, Pangasinan also suffered the same fate with million of pesos worth of burley tobacco plants wilting after the rains.

Also affected by the rains were Virginia tobacco plants in La Union, Ilocos Norte and Abra.
Ilocos Sur is the country’s biggest producer of Virginia tobacco. On the other hand, Pangasinan is also the country’s biggest producer of burly tobacco.

Virginia tobacco is the main component of cigarette while burley is that part of the cigarette which keeps the latter continuously burning shortly after it is lighted.

Collado said he advised his town mates to shift to other crops in order to recoup their burly tobacco were destroyed by the rains.