September 23, 2002	Monday	Rajab 15, 1423

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SWABI, Sept 22: The general-secretary of the NWFP Anjuman-i-Kashthkaran and member of the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB), Ismail Jan Khan, has said that he will resign in protest if tobacco companies fail to purchase the surplus produce from the growers.

Talking to journalists here on Sunday, he said the PTB and the Lakson Tobacco Company (LTC) had announced that they would not purchase the surplus tobacco from the farmers.

The two major tobacco companies were said to have declared that they had completed their quotas of purchase for the current season.

Mr Khan said small manufacturers of cigarettes had already purchased bulk of the tobacco produce, reducing the burden of the companies, but the PTC and LTC had adopted various tactics to purchase the commodity from the growers at rock-bottom prices.

After declaring tobacco as surplus, the companies had already paved the way for buying the crop at low prices, he said, adding that about two million kilogrammes of Virginia tobacco were still lying with the growers.

According to LTC officials, the company has purchased its required quota before Aug 20, but till Aug 31, it continued the purchase at competitive prices. They said the company still wanted to buy the produce but could not afford to purchase the entire surplus crop.

The officials conceded that bulk of the tobacco produce was still lying with the growers.

Sources in the PTC said that after the completion of their quota, the company continued purchasing the surplus tobacco. They said that according to the tobacco marketing law, MLO-487, they were bound to purchase 50 per cent quota direct from the growers, while the remaining from the tobacco traders.

GROWERS’ DEMAND: The growers, however, alleged that after Aug 31, both companies had purchased tobacco only from affluent farmers and had ignored the poverty-stricken peasants, forcing them to approach the small cigarette manufacturers to sell the commodity at low prices.

They criticized the officials of both of the companies for their indifferent and discriminatory attitude.