Indian hand-rolled cigarettes get cool in overseas markets

Indian hand-rolled cigarettes get cool in overseas markets

Biman Mukherji, Agence France Presse, New Delhi

India's humble bidi, the pungent hand-rolled cigarette touted as
the poor man's mini cigar, is proving an unlikely export earner
with rising sales in the overseas market.

Top Indian brands such as 501 and 502 Pataka are beginning to
do brisk business in countries as diverse as Britain,
Switzerland, the West Indies and Indonesia.

Industry officials said customer inquiries started pouring in
after manufacturers took to advertising bidis on the Internet
with a series of low-cost promotions.

"Bidis are getting popular abroad. We take care to follow each
and every inquiry very carefully," said K.G. Prabhu, assistant
general manager at Ganesh Bidi, one of India's largest bidi
manufacturers.

Prabhu said his company's export earnings had been steadily
rising by 15 to 20 percent a year, although the maze of
regulations governing the tobacco industry in most countries
meant a lot of work had to be done before landing a firm order.

But such obstacles are doing nothing to dampen the hard-sell,
as manufacturers scramble for a slice of the growing foreign
market.

"We make best quality, non-flavored, flavored and herbal
bidis. Our famous brands come in all flavors, vanilla, orange,
lime, menthol and also 100 percent natural bidis," reads one
Internet advertisement.

India's smoke more than one trillion bidis every year. An
experienced worker can roll 2,000 a day.

The blending process for manufacturing the most popular bidi
brands is a closely-guarded secret, but is roughly done by mixing
different grades of tobacco and wrapping them in a leaf called
the tendu.

The rolls are cut to size, tied up with a thread and then
roasted in an oven to remove moisture and give the bidi its
typically strong flavor.

"The aroma and the flavor is inimitable, but it takes time for
a new smoker to get used to it," says Ramesh Chanchlani,
proprietor of "A-one bidi".

Industry officials said the biggest market at the moment is
the Middle East and the United States, but bidis are also making
inroads in Australia.

Bidi manufacturers have been setting up their overseas
networks by appointing sales agents for the markets wherever the
volumes were big enough.

Chanchlani said manufacturers had introduced fruit flavors for
the overseas markets as many people liked to experiment with
taste.

"These flavored varieties would not be successful at home as
people like to stick to the original taste."

In India, conventional cigarettes make up only about 20
percent of the national tobacco market.

The bidi industry is highly decentralized and many
manufacturers are unlicensed. Much of the manufacturing is done
by cottage industries and often whole families, including women
and children, are engaged in bidi production.

The industry has been targeted by child labor organizations,
who say up to six million children aged between four and 14 are
engaged in rolling bidis.