SWABI, Dec 1: The Pakistan Tobacco Board will get Rs98.95 million in 2007 from the companies purchasing tobacco, whose requirement for the year is 79.16 million kilogrammes.

The board gets Rs1.25 for each kg of tobacco purchased and it does not receive any funds from the government.

According to sources, 45 companies, including 23 who are buying for the first time, announced the requirement quota for 2007 through the PTB two days back.

Last year, 22 companies had announced quota while several others had purchased tobacco from black market, they said.

They alleged that the firms would buy more tobacco than the declared quota through other means.

The demand for Virginia tobacco is 74.07 million kg, white Patta tobacco 3.87 million kg and barley tobacco 600,000kg. The demand for flue-cured Virginia and white Patta tobacco has increased by 0.43 per cent and 18.16 per cent, respectively, as compared to the current year. The requirement of burley tobacco has decreased by 61.25 per cent.

"The quota is announced so that the growers could plan in advance crop cultivation according to the firms’ quirements," said an official.

The sources said the increase in demand of white Patta tobacco would not benefit the growers because the expected production of the crop was 10 million kg.