A Tobacco Warehouse in North Sumatra, 1900s

Foto: Carl Josef Kleingrothe/National Gallery of Australia

After harvesting, the next issue for plantation commodities is how to deliver them efficiently. In addition to the transportation network, there is one other thing that is also important, namely packaging. Without good packaging, shipping commodities will be inefficient and costly.

Because of that, tobacco and tea commodities in the form of leaves are usually pressed before being shipped so that they are solid and can save space. The photo above shows a tobacco storage warehouse in North Sumatra around the 1900s. We can see a press machine that is driven by several people. Also there are packages of tobacco after being pressed and ready to be sent to the cigarette factory.