The Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) Tobacco Growers Association of Andhra Pradesh has opposed the Central Government’s proposal to allow Foreign Direct Investment in tobacco sector saying it would destabilise the industry.
In a petition sent to the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Anand Sharma, the association leaders, N. Subba Rao and P. S. Muralibabu said the FDI would pave the way for free entry of Multi National Corporations (MNCs) in the garb of improving cultivation, hitting the livelihood of millions of growers.
The FDI would result in a loss to the ex-chequer from the existing level of Rs. 2,000 crores to an expected Rs. 5,660 crores in the next 3-4 years to come, they claimed. Moreover, these MNC’s have been buying Indian tobacco through their strategic partners but have never invested in the crop development nor paid the tobacco growers well.
