TOBACCO FERMENTATION PLANT BEGINS OPERATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00039R000200080031-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 7, 2012
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: July 18, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200080031-8
Tobacco Ferment Lion Plant Begins 0 , eration
Bulgarian newspaper
28 Sep 1951
Declassified in Part -Sanitized Coy Approved for Release 2012/05/07 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200080031-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200080031-8
RTHICTEp
TOBAC aC0 FERi NTATION PLANT BEGJNS OPERATION ,." Sofia, Vecherfli Novi.,
2Q Sep1
on the eve of the bright holiday of freedom, 9 September,
Bulgarian construction workers handed over another valuable plant
to the national economy, the "Vasil Demirevski" Fermentation Plant,
Heretofore, the fermentation of tobacco in Bulgaria has
been induced in a natural way through so called "seasonal
only
fermentation". Tobacco was left in the warehouses of the Tobacco
Monopoly for a period of Li. to months, and sometimes even a year,,
in order to ferment.
The out-of-season fermentation is an altogether new method
for processing tobacco. This method was first tried in the Soviet
Union where artificial fermentation was studied and successfully
applied for the first time by professor Smirnov at the Krasnodar
Tobacco Institute.
Thanks to the rich experience of Soviet specialists, this
new way of inducing fermentation in tobacco is being introduced
in Bulgaria according to plan. Very soon several fermentation
plants will be put in operation in Bulgaria; they will help
eliminate the lengthy processes of natural fermentation by
storage in warehouses and will simplify and reduce costs in
processing Bulgarian high'-grade tobacco.
The advantages of the outs of~seascn, artificial, or so-
called plant fermentation of tobacco are the following; in the
.
P~STR$qTED
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Cop Approved for Release 2012/05/07 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200080031-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200080031-8
ikESl111CTE0
first place, the time necessary for tha fermentation of tobacco is
greatly reduced. By the new method, tobacco ferments for 8 to 10
days instead of to S months or even a year. This reduction of
the time of fermentation has a large number of advantages. In the
first place, the necessity for warehouses to preserve tobacco is
minimized. While before an area of one square meter in a ware
house could be used to store 80 kilograms of naturally fermenting
tobaccoy at present the same space can be used to store 200 kilo-
grams of tobacco, which permits the storage of two and a half
times more tobacco in existing warehouses. By plant fermentation
of tobacco the cigarette factories can be continuously supplied
with fermented tobacco, which renders unnecessary the storage of
old crop tobacco at factories, and this old tobacco can be ex-
ported abroad. This also prevents tying up large operational
funds, Plant fermentation totally eliminates the molding of
tobacco, which is unavoidable in natural fermentation and which
causes damages of millions of levy to the national economy each
year. The introduction of plant fermentation also eliminates
the seasonal aspect of tobacco processing. The tobacco crop
will at present be bought much earlier than in the past. In
addition, by radically changing the fermentation process, plant
fermentation will render unnecessary the processing of tobacco
at warehouses, and there will gradually be only one single pro-
cessing of tobacco in the villages.. This will help the state to
realize economies, of 20 to 30 leva per kilogram of tobacco. In
general, plant fermentation of tobacco is cheaper for the state
than seasonal fermentation. Plant fermentation considerably im~
proves the color, aroma, and quality of tobacco.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200080031-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200080031-8
R3T RIOTED
eason plant fermentation of tobacco was ap'
The put of s
. aria in May 19Q a~ the ?loveLv
plied or the first time a. ' n g
Fermenta~~.on plant. The results of the first experience were
very satisf actory. Since then the technologicai processing of
tobacco for export or cigarette manufactur11 g has been put on
a scientific basis in Eulgaria.
ruction of the new "Vasil Uemirevski" Fer-
The coast
mentatan Plant was launched in the beginning of the second
ear. It was completed with work carried
quarter of the current y
m o. On 1 Oct the first batches of tobacco
on at ba].shev~-k to p
will be loaded in its fermentation chambers. The new fermentation
plant 1s Bulgara. 'an made. All its machines have been built by
?'n~ lants, such as the "G. KirkovPlant,
Bul gari an machine ?bu~.ld~ b p
the "Sportak" State Industrial Enterprise, and others.
The fermentation chambers of the plant are situated on the
made of wood and are well insulated.
first floor. Their walls are
On all premises of the plant, equipmeat for central heating of the
.
air and for vent:t.lat?on has been installed, which purifies the
~.
ant temperature and a constant degree of humidity
air, keeps a coast ~
and creates the necessary atmospheric conditions
on the premises,
for the fermentation process. On the second floor are situated
the plant's laboratories, which are able at any given moment to
determine how far fermentation has progressed, and on the third
floor are the premises for storing the fermented tobacco.
The tobacco which is to undergo plant fermentation is dis~
,
tributed in advance into lots according to ripeness, moisture
[ST RtOTh
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200080031-8
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07 : CIA-RDP82-00039R000200080031-8
RESTRICTEfl
content and other qualities. The tobacco i then placed on spa..
ca.al. shelves in the chambers, each of which can hold 16 tons of
tobacco, and is left to ferment by keeping the necessary constant
temperature, atmospheric humidity and other conditions.
With the construction of additional fermentation plants
the very basis of Bulgarian tobacco production is changing. It
becomes independent of climatic conditions,
Thanks to the great care of Party and government and the
application of rich Soviet experience, the most important article
of Bulgarian export tobacco will be produced in a better way,
more quickly and more profitably,
END
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/07 : CIA RDP82-00039R000200080031 8