A member of the Chinese delegation tries her hand at stringing tobacco.
Asian visitors to the N.C. State Fair are becoming a tradition. Last year, Japan’s ambassador to the U.S. visited. Saturday, a group of 22 Chinese tobacco buyers toured the Fair. The group has been in North Carolina for almost a week, meeting with representatives of U.S. Tobacco Cooperative and others involved in exporting N.C. tobacco to China.
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler took a few members of the delegation for short rides on the Big Cart. Afterward, the group visited the Got to Be NC Agriculture exhibit, sampled homemade ice cream and strung tobacco in Heritage Circle, saw dairy cattle in the Jim Graham Building and milk goats in the Expo Center. A few of the female members even got makeovers at the L’Oreal Paris tent near Dorton Arena.
Commissioner Troxler visited China in August to encourage the Chinese to buy more N.C. tobacco and other commodities. Many of the tobacco officials he met with in Beijing were in the group at the State Fair Saturday.