Flue-cured tobacco officials have come up with another offer to tobacco companies in an effort to sell last year's unsold leaf.

The Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corp. in Raleigh is trying to sell some of the 181.8 million pounds of unsold tobacco before the U.S. Department of Agriculture announces next year's quota on Tuesday.

If some of the tobacco is not sold, farmers could face a 32 percent cut in the amount of tobacco they are allowed to grow.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. had agreed to abide by the first deal offered by the co-op to buy tobacco at an 18 percent discount from all grades. But Philip Morris USA balked at the idea, saying it wanted to choose its own tobacco.

The new plan somewhat counters Philip Morris' offer and prods the tobacco companies to buy more flue-cured leaf over the next seven years.

``What we've been able to do is blend something that will move a significant amount of tobacco,'' said Arnold Hamm, a co-op spokesman. ``If this is successful, and we're optimistic that it will be, it will prevent a catastrophic quota cut.''

The co-op has offered to sell tobacco at a 15 percent discount to companies that buy 90 percent of their market share of 475 million pounds of tobacco in each of the next seven years, the Winston-Salem Journal reported Saturday.
