Farmers in Prakasam district, who have grown tobacco after a bad cropping season in the last two years, fear fall in the market for low and medium grade varieties, and have sought the intervention of the Tobacco Board.
“The average price for the low grade varieties has fallen to about ₹85 per kg. If the present trend continues, we will burn our fingers this season also,” a group of farmers at Ongole II auction platform lamented. Worried over the “high no bid rate,” they said about 25 to 30% of their produce taken to auction platforms had no takers.
“At the beginning of the season, we were promised an average price of ₹160 per kg for bright grade, ₹145 per kg for medium grade and ₹100 per kg for low grade varieties. This season, the promised average price of ₹135 per kg may prove elusive,” they said. “We will meet Tobacco Board Chairman T. Venkatesh in a delegation soon to seek his intervention,” said Prakasam district Rythu Sangham Secretary D. Gopinath after taking stock of the situation obtaining in the traditional tobacco-growing areas of Southern Black Soil (SBS) and Southern Light Soil (SLS) regions. The Tobacco Board should bring to auction platforms all the registered manufacturers and exporters to lift the market sentiment as the crop this year is less of bright grade and more of medium and low grade varieties, Virginia Tobacco Growers Welfare Association president Ch. Seshaiah said, adding that medium and low grade varieties account for 30% and 40% respectively of the total production this year due to hostile weather conditions coupled with rampant infestation of parasitic weed Orabanche cernua .
Exporters watchful
Farmers in SLS region have so far marketed 9.68 million kg getting an average price of ₹142.30 per kg, while their counterparts in SBS region sold 10.8 million kg to get an average price of ₹143 per kg, Tobacco Board sources said.
The average price realised so far is ₹20 per kg higher than last year for every variety, the sources said. With no firm indication from overseas buyers for certain low grade varieties, exporters were adopting a wait and watch attitude. “A clear trend is likely to emerge by this month-end,” India Tobacco Association sources added.
