Phase II Payments Delayed Until January 17

RICHMOND (January 11, 2006) – The Virginia Tobacco Trust Certification Board, Inc. (Phase II) today announced that it has been notified that the Phase II payment checks, scheduled to be mailed January 6, 2006, have been delayed to January 17th.

The checks are being mailed by Phase II Trustee JP Morgan Chase from the offices of its vendor, located in Dallas, TX. The checks have been delayed because of volume processing of the Phase II payments of 14 states, and some production issues at JP Morgan related to date coding and file integration.

JP Morgan Chase will notify the Board if there is any change in this mail date, but none is expected. Questions can be directed to the Virginia Phase II call center at 1-800-736-7197. Current information is also available at the Virginia Phase II website, www.virginiaphase2.com.

The 2004 Phase II payments had been delayed due to litigation regarding the cigarette manufacturers’ obligation to make 2004 contributions after President Bush signed the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act (FETRA). After the initial decision and an appeals process, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the manufacturers were obligated to make the 2004 payments and those monies are now available for distribution to tobacco producers and quota holders.

Flue-cured tobacco quota owners and producers will receive 14.81 cents per pound. Burley tobacco producers will receive 13.01 cents per payment pound while burley quota owners will receive 9.43 cents per pound.

The Phase II payments are the result of the National Tobacco Grower Settlement Trust agreement negotiated between tobacco growing states and cigarette manufacturers. More than $107 million in Phase II payments has been distributed to more than 42,000 Virginia tobacco producers and quota owners since 1999.