BUSINESS MEMO: TOBACCO SALES

U.S. cigarette manufacturers bought 434 million pounds of burley tobacco during the 1995 marketing season -- October 1, 1995 through September 30, 1996.

Purchases were 113 percent of "intended" purchases. The manufacturers' purchase intention for the 1995 crop were 385 million pounds.

The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 requires each major cigarette manufacturer to buy at least 90 percent of its purchase intentions to avoid the assessment of a penalty if producer marketings equal or exceed the effective national quota.