SWABI, Aug 12: Tobacco companies have announced an 'open door' policy allowing farmers to bring their produce for sale. Sources said the decision had been taken owing to hailstorms which had destroyed the crop in differentareas.

Before the cultivation of tobacco, the companies and the Pakistan Tobacco Board had warned growers that those who failed to sign agreements with buyers must avoid growing tobacco. The farmers were told that tobacco would be bought only from those who had signed an agreement in this regard.

Leaders of the NWFP Anjuman-i-Kashtkaran and the Ittehad-i-Kashtkaran said the new policy had exposed the companies' claim that they had enough stock and they could not purchase the surplus tobacco.

The said the PTB had caused them a huge loss because its employees allegedly were in league with the companies. The criticized the vigilance committees, which had to check the grades of tobacco and ensure that no purchaser unnecessarily rejected the product or paid low price for it.

According to the tobacco marketing law (Martial Law Order 487), they said, the weighted average prices of tobacco should not be lower than those of the preceding year.