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Indri Dwi Wiyanti, v.p. marketing, PTPN1. Photo credit: Thomas Schmid
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Laeli Fadli Arif, senior executive vice president, PTPN1. Photo credit: PTPN1
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Onat Can Zeytin, head of sales, Adiyaman Tobacco Cooperative. Photo credit: Thomas Schmid
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The fertile fields around Adiyaman produce some of the world’s best tobacco. Photo credit: Adiyaman Tobacco Cooperative
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Veteran trader Lubomir Entchev proudly presents his merchandise. Photo credit: Thomas Schmid
Three unconventional leaf suppliers whose stories reveal the grit, ingenuity, and quiet resilience required to thrive in a market dominated by global giants.
Beyond the big names
InterSupply has long been the showcase for the world’s largest leaf suppliers. Names like Universal Leaf and Alliance One International, are perennial fixtures, commanding vast booths and global attention. Their scale, reach, and resources are unmatched. But between these towering presences, a quieter presence persists: smaller, independent suppliers who bring regional specialties, artisanal quality, and a different kind of story.
These companies don’t compete on volume or visibility. They compete on character—of product, of place, and of people. At InterSupply 2025, Tobacco Asia met three such suppliers: PT. Perkebunan Nusantara 1 from Indonesia, Adiyaman Tobacco Cooperative from Turkey, and International Tobacco Company Overseas Ltd. from Bulgaria. Each operates a little out of the main spotlight, yet each has carved out a niche that defies the odds.
PT. Perkebunan Nusantara 1: Indonesia’s dual tobacco heritage
“We are not just a tobacco company,” Indri Dwi Wiyanti, vice president marketing of PT. Perkebunan Nusantara 1 (PTPN1), told Tobacco Asia at InterSupply2025. “We are a plantation group. We grow rubber, tea, coffee, cacao. But tobacco—tobacco is special.” PTPN1 is part of the state-owned Perkebunan Nusantara conglomerate, and its tobacco operations span Central Java, East Java, and Sumatra. The company cultivates two distinct varietals: Besuki TBN from Java and Sumatra leaf from the island’s northern reaches. “Sumatra leaf is world famous, perhaps the second most famous after Cubano,” Indri said. “It’s used only in premium cigars, and global demand is high.”
The company’s production model is hybrid. In Java, PTPN1 leases land from local farmers. For labor, priority is given to the landowners themselves as well as farmers from the surrounding areas, ensuring their direct involvement in the cultivation process. Through this model, PTPN1 not only supports the socio-economic sustainability of local communities but also guarantees that tobacco cultivation is carried out in accordance with the company’s standards. In Sumatra, the company operates its own plantations, currently covering around 20 hectares, with plans to expand in 2026. “Next year, we will increase the acreage for Sumatra to 50 hectares,” Indri revealed.
Annual output reflects this structure. Besuki TBN yields approximately 900,000 kilograms of cured leaf per year, while Sumatra leaf—due to its limited acreage—produces around 14,000 kilograms. But with pending expansion underway, that figure is set to rise. Export is the lifeblood of PTPN1’s tobacco business. “About 90% across both varietals is exported,” Indri said, “primarily to Europe and America, but also to some Asian countries.” The remaining 10% is sold domestically, often to local hand-rolled cigar manufacturers. InterSupply 2025 marked PTPN1’s second appearance at the show. “We noticed that inquiries for some tobacco types waned, while inquiries for Besuki were increasing,” Indri noted. “I will report that to our director. Maybe we can use this development as an opportunity for ramping up our Besuki production.” The company is also venturing into cigar manufacturing. “We created our own brand of premium cigars earlier this year,” Indri said. “For now, it’s only for the Indonesian market. But eventually, we’d like to market it in Europe and other Asian countries. The USA will be very difficult to enter, though, because of the complicated paperwork.”
Despite being part of a state-owned group, PTPN1 operates with a surprising degree of agility. “We may not be a giant in this industry,” Indri remarked. “Yet we possess something truly unique—authenticity. Our tobacco is cultivated in the same soil, nurtured by the same hands, and passed down through generations, preserving an Indonesian legacy of craftsmanship and tradition.” She added, “We take great pride in our farmers as well as the dedicated experts within PTPN1. Through this close collaboration, we are able to achieve the finest quality tobacco production. Within this model, PTPN1 plays an active role by providing technical support, necessary facilities and infrastructure, and continuous guidance to ensure optimal results. It’s a partnership, not just a transaction.” Indri also emphasized the importance of traceability. “Buyers today want to know where their tobacco comes from. We can trace every single bale back to the farmer and the field. That’s something our clients appreciate.”
Laeli Fadli Arif, senior executive vice president, said, “At PTPN1, we believe that tobacco is not only part of our heritage but also a strategic commodity that connects Indonesia with the global cigar industry. Our commitment is to ensure that the tobacco we produce—whether Besuki TBN from Java or Sumatra leaf from our estates—continues to play a vital role in premium cigar blends around the world. Through consistent innovation, implementation of modern agricultural practices, and dedication to sustainability, we are confident that PTPN1 tobacco will maintain its international reputation and competitive advantage. Our participation in InterSupply is a clear demonstration of our determination to strengthen our branding, expand global networks, and remain responsive to the dynamic changes in the global tobacco market.”
Adiyaman Tobacco Cooperative: Turkey’s semi-oriental gem
“Whoever you talk to in Turkey, if you ask them what they know about [the town of] Adiyaman, the answer will be ‘tobacco’,” said Onat Can Zeytin, head of sales at Adiyaman Tobacco Cooperative. Located in the mountainous eastern Anatolian region near Gaziantep, Adiyaman is synonymous with semi-oriental tobacco—a variety often confused with its more common cousin, oriental. “But there’s a big difference between the two varietals,” Onat asserted. “Oriental is primarily from the region around Izmir in Turkey’s southwest. It’s easy to process for cigarettes and cheaper. But our product is semi-oriental—big leaves, big stems, and a unique taste. It’s its own specific variety.”
The cooperative comprises over 800 farmer members, each cultivating small plots averaging 20-25 acres. “We are a very mountainous region,” Onat said. “There’s not much flat arable land. It’s like small patches here and there. But tobacco is our farmer families’ primary source of income.” The cooperative’s own processing plant handles around 800,000 kilograms of semi-oriental tobacco per season on a single shift basis. “If we increase the plant’s capacity, the total volume can rise even higher,” Onat explained. “With additional shifts we can easily scale up production whenever needed. And in our region, there is plenty of high-quality tobacco available to meet much greater demand.”
Until recently, the cooperative’s reach was largely domestic. “Our region is not wealthy,” Onat said. “There are not many investors or companies that want to try and export. We are the first local company trying to export internationally.” InterTabac 2025 was a strategic move to expand into the international arena; and the cooperative’s first appearance at the world’s largest tobacco industry show. “We want to expand our customer base,” Onat said. “We want to enter other markets because we want them to know about this superior product. It’s such good quality—it’s a pity that nobody tried until now.”
The cooperative also produces its own fine-cut tobacco brand, Kirsal, for self-rolling. “It’s available everywhere in Turkey,” Onat said. “But I’ve never seen it in Europe, although there’s a huge Turkish community, especially in Germany. That’s why we’re aiming to start with Germany first.” Kirsal is ready for export, with yellow, blue, and red labels fully compliant with EU TPD and local regulations. “We strive to begin working with interested distributors in Germany and beyond soon,” Onat said.
Apart from end consumer-ready fine cut, leaf remains a core focus also. In addition to semi-oriental, the cooperative also has the ability to process oriental tobaccos from Izmir, Samsun, and Hatay, which are in strong demand in Asian markets. “We are flexible,” Onat emphasized. “We can fulfil leaf orders, even create blends right here at our cooperative to meet customer needs across different tobacco types.” Another strength of the cooperative is full traceability. Every batch can be tracked back to the farmer and the exact field where it was grown. This gives the cooperatives’ customers full transparency and confidence in the tobaccos’ authenticity.
Onat also highlighted the cooperative’s social role. “We are not just a business. We are a community. Our farmers depend on this crop. We provide training, equipment, and a guaranteed buyer. That’s rare in our region.” Looking ahead, Onat gave himself optimistic. “One day we are going to be everywhere, I hope,” he said. “We believe that we have the potential, and we have exceptional quality at an affordable price. We are not only focused on Germany but also on other international markets. With scalable capacity and EU-compliant brands already prepared, we are ready to grow our partnerships and expand our presence step by step in Europe and beyond.”
International Tobacco Company Overseas Ltd.: Bulgaria’s veteran trader
“I’ve been in the tobacco business for 35 years,” said Lubomir Entchev, owner and proprietor of International Tobacco Company Overseas Ltd., based in Sofia, Bulgaria. “I buy my tobacco directly from Bulgarian farmers.”
Entchev’s portfolio includes oriental, burley, and virginia tobaccos, all processed at Parvomay—a large Bulgarian merchant with its own facilities. “We are a comparatively small trader,” Entchev admitted. “But we sell to cigarette manufacturers in Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, France, Netherlands, and Germany.” However, the company’s sales to Russia ceased in 2022 due to sanctions related to the Ukraine war. “Russia is in a very difficult position now,” Entchev noted.
“But we also sell to Jordan, UAE—mostly Dubai—Oman, Iraq.” Middle Eastern clients use Entchev’s tobacco for cigarette blends, not shisha. “Bulgaria produces some shisha-grade tobacco,” he said. “It’s good quality, with a nicotine content of a little more than 1%. But the output is very small. The tobaccos I trade in the Middle East are, therefore, primarily used for cigarette blends.”
For Entchev, attending InterSupply 2025 was less about new business and more about maintaining relationships. “I primarily came to meet up with long-time customers,” he said. “It’s great catching up and discussing the ever-changing business dynamics in the tobacco sector.” But the landscape is shifting, particularly for smaller traders like himself. “It’s getting increasingly difficult to sell,” Entchev admitted. “Restrictions, factory closures, stiff competition. Everybody is trying to hold on to their share of the pie. EU regulations—they are crazy. Crazy.”
Perhaps that is why Entchev is presently pivoting a bit more towards Southeast Asia than he used to in the past. “We sell some tobacco to Indonesia,” he said. “We try to also sell to Vietnam.” But his past ventures of acquisitioning Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi tobacco have definitely been put on ice—at least for the time being. “Their prices have gone up so much,” he noted. “There’s no profit margin in it for me anymore. And shipping also takes 60, 70, even 80 days to Europe, with shipping costs having skyrocketed.”
Against the odds
There is no revolution underway in the international tobacco trade—no sweeping shift in market power or sudden disruption of the global leaf supply hierarchy. The giants still dominate the stage. But in their shadow, smaller suppliers persist as they always have. They navigate regulatory hurdles, logistical challenges, and price pressures with limited resources and outsized determination.
PTPN1, Adiyaman Tobacco Cooperative, and International Tobacco Company Overseas Ltd. do not seek to dethrone the industry’s heavyweights. Instead, they succeed by being different—by offering regional authenticity, flexible service, and a personal touch that mass-scale operations often cannot replicate. Their InterSupply booths may be modest, their volumes smaller, but their stories are rich with resilience.
And perhaps it is precisely because the odds are stacked against them that they thrive. In a world of consolidation and standardization, these independent suppliers remind us that there is still room for diversity, for heritage, and for the kind of quiet excellence that doesn’t need a gaudily bright spotlight to shine.