Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) Tobacco has emerged a top grosser for India as the exports fetched more than $1billion during the 2013-2014 fiscal year, Tobacco Board Chairman K. Gopal said here on Monday.
Tobacco exports touched a record 2.66 lakh Metric Tonnes, earning a foreign exchange of Rs. 6,092.86 crore surpassing all previous records, Dr. Gopal said on Tuesday.
India is the second largest producer of FCV tobacco (316 million kg), second largest exporter of tobacco (236 million kg), with 91 countries as trading partners.
“The Board has set a target of achieving Rs.10,000 crore in the next five years. It is possible if farmers adopt best farm practices. We have managed to achieve a consistency in FCV tobacco production and with a four per cent growth in export volumes,’’ Dr. Gopal said.
Regulation of crop production has been a formidable challenge for the Board as the farmers went on an overdrive in 2013-2014 producing 316 million kg, much higher than the authorised crop size of 274 million kg. The Board has ensured that the entire Tobacco was sold on auction floors ensuring that farmers and traders have a win-win situation.
“The key issues remain are CPA residues, non-tobacco related manufacturers, tariff barriers for traders and lengthy auction procedures, price variations and vagaries of weather for farmers. The Board is looking into these issues and has begun addressing them,’’ the Tobacco Board Chairman said, adding that as part of the brand image building exercise, the Tobacco Board participated in the International Trade fairs giving a boost to trade.
As a prelude to the cropping season in Andhra Pradesh, the Tobacco Board released a “Special Bulletin on Karnataka FCV tobacco” containing good agriculture practices that have been adopted to produce best quality neutral filler tobacco from Karnataka Light Soils and also to inform the global importers about the Board’s intent in bringing grower and trade oriented reforms.
