Tobacco was an ideal crop for a country full of small landowners and destitute immigrants. It yielded four times more income than any other product per hectare of land, secured large volumes of foreign exchange from new markets (mainly Germany) and was an important source of tax revenue in the state budget. Approximately 150,000 families were employed in growing tobacco, meaning that 15% of the country’s rural population depended on it for their livelihood. In Agrinio it was the only crop and served as a source of wealth for the entire population. So the collapse of its price as a result of the financial crisis of 1929 reduced standards of living and gave rise to social unrest.