Growers worried over non-purchase of tobacco, low prices

MARDAN: Tobacco growers have complained that apart from three major companies, others are purchasing tobacco from them at very low prices, while most companies have not yet begun procurement.

Talking to reporters, they said that more than 100 companies were registered with the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB), but only three major companies were currently making purchases, while the rest remained absent from the market.

According to them, some companies were refusing to buy tobacco at the rates fixed by the PTB.Farmers expressed concern over the quota allocated to smaller companies, questioning who would purchase it from the growers. They added that the major companies have nearly completed their quota and are now delaying further procurement. They said they had extensively planted tobacco crops, but now, as the crops have become harvestable, they were unable to sell them.

They further said there was no check and balance, while the PTB had closed its eyes to the situation. They warned that although major companies had nearly completed their quotas, smaller firms were not purchasing, creating uncertainty for growers who now struggled to sell their harvest.

Farmers accused the PTB of negligence and urged authorities to intervene. They appealed to the PTB, commissioner and deputy commissioner Mardan, as well as other relevant bodies, to take immediate action so that relief could be provided to tobacco growers.

Talking to The News, President of Anjuman-e-Kashtkaran Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ajmal Shah Roghani, said tobacco growers were facing serious problems in selling their crops as most of the companies registered with the PTB had not started procurement.

He said farmer representatives recently held a meeting with PTB officials, during which the board assured them that the quota of non-purchasing companies would be cancelled next year.He added that the officials also clarified that no surplus policy would be implemented in the current season.