
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 30, 1990                   TAG: 9007300143
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A/8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

VA. TOBACCO CROP REPORTED STRONG

Virginia's tobacco markets open Tuesday, a few weeks earlier than normal, and experts said the state's No. 1 cash crop is in good shape and will bring higher-than-average prices.

Last year, 95.7 million pounds of tobacco was sold in Virginia markets for $162 million, or about $1.69 per pound, according to Kevin Harding of the Virginia Agriculture Statistics Service.

The service said a June 1 survey indicated the 52,290 acres of tobacco planted in the state was a 5 percent gain over last year's planting.

Prices were about $9 higher per 100 pounds for the same grade of flue-cured tobacco when markets opened in Georgia last week and improved generally $4 to $11 per hundred in North Carolina, where markets also opened last week.

by CNB