Sorting and Storage

Following Regie's purchase of the farmer's crops, the produce is shipped to the Department's regional stores so that they are stored in ideal conditions.

The tobacco is then shipped to Regie's sorting plants in Ghazeye and Bakfaya.

The Department runs three tobacco sorting plants:

Hadath Sorting Plant
A modern plant, the Hadath branch handles 40,000 kg of tobacco on a daily basis over the course of two shifts; the plant is not currently in operation.

Ghazeye Sorting Plant
A new plant that can process 50,000 kg of tobacco on a daily basis, the Ghazeye branch is currently under renovation.

Bekfaya Sorting Plant
The most modern plant, the Bekfaya plant was completed in 2013 and handles 20,000 kg per day.

Storage and Shipping
Tobacco packing is undertaken at temperature ranges of 35-50 degrees centigrade and under tightly-controlled levels of humidity.

Workers remove rotten leaves and any non-tobacco material during sorting. The tobacco is then mechanically compressed and divided into parcels of 45-47 kg when it is numbered and dated.

The tobacco is then divided into various classifications and stored by type and production date to be used for fabrication or export. The parcels are then gassed to eliminate insects and the facilities are sterilized annually.

Once the parcels have reached a density of less than 13% they are compressed again and made ready for export.