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No takers for tobacco
Harsh climate, lack of required rainfall spelled doom for tobacco farmers, as only 25 per cent of this year’s produce deemed first rate. No sooner did the auction began, top companies bought premier grade tobacco. Now the farmers are left with low and medium grade tobacco and are finding it hard to get remunerative price as well as buyers
Ongole: Harsh climate, lack of required rainfall spelled doom for tobacco farmers, as only 25 per cent of this year’s produce deemed first rate. No sooner did the auction began, top companies bought premier grade tobacco. Now the farmers are left with low and medium grade tobacco and are finding it hard to get remunerative price as well as buyers
Highlights:
- 33 per cent of tobacco bales rejected due to lack of quality
- 24 per cent of bales received no bids
- Middlemen forcing farmers to sell tobacco at `50 per kg, but any price less than `80 per kg will incur losses to farmers
In Prakasam and Nellore districts, the tobacco board permitted 14,703 farmers to produce 42.20 million kilograms of tobacco in southern black soil of 21,709 hectares and 17,346 farmers to produce 40.42 million kilograms in southern light soil of 26,433 hectares. In the East and West Godavari districts, the board permitted to produce 47.50 million kilograms 21,000 hectares.
However, in Prakasam and Nellore districts, the farmers cultivated tobacco in only 40,000 and the yield was reduced by 30 to 35 per cent as the atmosphere was not conducive. At the beginning of the auction in March, the farmers got an average price of Rs 130 to 135 per kg and the farmers expected the trend will continue as the production of tobacco is less this year.
P Venkateswara Rao farmers’ representative from Tangutur said, “We expected the price continue for the few more days until we sell the premium grade tobacco. But the prices fell down immediately to Rs 100 per kg. Low grade tobacco prices fell down further and most of them are receiving no bid.”
In the 12 auction centres in the Prakasam district, about 33 percent of tobacco bales were rejected and about 24 per cent of them received no bids. As the buyers are not showing any interest in about 55 per cent of the tobacco brought for the auction, the farmers are forced to sell them to middlemen at meagre prices.
Vadde Prasad a farmer said, “Middlemen are asking us to sell the tobacco at Rs. 50 to 55 per kg but selling them any price below Rs. 80 per kg is a suicidal act for us. But if the days continue like this, we fear that this price also may step down to Rs. 30 to 35. We are in a fix and unable to sell or take home the tobacco.”
According to the statistics with Tobacco Board, only 25 per cent tobacco produced was best quality. In the initial days of the market, the premium grade tobacco is purchased by companies like ITC and they left the marker without showing interest in the low grade.
The board, which gave permission to cultivate tobacco, has nothing to offer during the purchase period. It just provides a platform to sell the tobacco at the desired price of the companies. The plight of tobacco farmers is continues for another year while the board officials claim that they are working hard to convince the companies to pay better price.
