Farmers organize harvested tobacco leaves for curing alike a farm at N.G. Padu in Prakasam district.
| Picture Credit score: SRINIVAS KOMMURI
Farmers within the conventional tobacco rising area in south coastal Andhra Pradesh have pitched for the next quota right through the approaching Rabi season. The call for got here nearest top class leaves fetched a report value of over ₹210 a kg right through the continuing e-auctions in Prakasam and Nellore districts.
The profusion call for for the cured leaves globally has ended in the marketplace going northwards. Now not happy with the abbreviation measurement of 142 million kg fastened through the Tobacco Board, the farmers, via ruling celebration MPs, have asked the Union Trade Ministry to extend the cultivation quota to 170 million kg, in keeping with a gaggle of farmers in Ongole. Acceding to the farmers’ plea, the Centre waived penalty on plethora tobacco with registered growers.
‘’Officers from the Ministry are making an allowance for the call for of the farmers for the next abbreviation measurement in view of the export call for,’‘ said Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, who was part of the MPs delegation.
Tobacco sold so far
Farmers coming under the auction platforms in the Southern Light Soil (SLS) region have so far marketed 52.51 million kg at an average price of ₹210.11 a kg whereas their counterparts in the Southern Black Soil (SBS) region got an average price of ₹210.29 a kg for the 56.85 million kg, according to a report compiled by the crop regulator.
In contrast, farmers had realised only an average price of ₹172 a kg for 76 million kg marketed during the previous year.
The fancy prices, even for the low-grade varieties, were due to a shortage of the crop to the tune of 400 million kg at global level, according to Indian Tobacco Association sources.
Despite early losses due to cyclonic storm, enterprising farmers in the two districts took a calculated risk and went for replanting and gap filling. They even grew tobacco on fields where they had planted chickpea earlier to offset the losses. Now, they are raking in the mullah.
For the first time, all varieties of tobacco, including ‘green and browns’ had been lapped up through exporters along side the top class forms of F1 and F2 as the worldwide avid gamers thought to be Bharat, particularly Andhra Pradesh, as a ‘‘strategic source of supply’‘.
In the meantime, sounding a be aware of warning, a farmer chief Ch. Ravi Babu mentioned farmers must want a lesser abbreviation measurement as they be on one?s feet to achieve most effective when the call for outstrips provide.
