PESHAWAR, March 15: The Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) is expected to announce next week the minimum support price for 70.993 million kilograms of tobacco leaf, to be procured by the tobacco companies, in the forthcoming purchase season.

“The PTB has worked out the cost of production through an extensive exercise by involving growers in the process and the support price for this year will be higher than the previous year,” said Sahibzada Khalid, chairman of PTB, when approached by the Dawn here on Saturday.

The PTB, which regulates the tobacco production and its marketing, had approved the total demand of 70.993 million kilograms of tobacco leaf of different categories in current purchase season.

Overall demand of the tobacco companies had witnessed a decline of 8.167 million kilograms comparing to the overall procurements of 79.160 million kilograms made in year 2007.

The demand includes 66.530 million kilograms for flue-cured Virginia, 0.925 million kilograms for dark air-cured, 3.168 million kilograms for white patta and 0.370 million kilograms for burley.

The growers had been showing reservations over support price announced by the PTB, claiming that cost of production had increased significantly, but they were not compensated through raise in per kilogram price of the tobacco leaf accordingly.

Per hectare current cost of production of Virginia tobacco in Peshawar valley is Rs236.750 for growing 2,500 kilograms of tobacco. This means per kilogram cost comes at Rs94.7, whereas the PTB’s prices range between Rs62 to Rs65 per kilogram, a tobacco grower from Swabi explains.

PTB chairman conceded that the cost of production had increased because of higher cost of fertilisers and firewood during the last couple of years.

He, however, clarified that the PTB this time had visited all the tobacco growing areas of NWFP to work out actual cost of production. He said that the support price to be announced for the forthcoming purchase season would be the reflection of the hectic exercise.

“We have tried our best to protect the growers’ interests while announcing the minimum support price,” he explained.

Also, he informed that the PTB was working on providing the growers cheap alternatives such as coal and solar energy of firewood for tobacco cure so that they could reduce their cost of production.

The growers had been demanding that the minimum support price should be announced before the commencement of plantation season somewhere in November each year.

At present agreements are signed between companies and the growers during November and October, whereas the PTB announces support price between February and June following which purchase season begins in July each year.

This practice leaves the growers with no option but to agree to the price the companies offer them though it causes them financial losses worth million of rupees every year.

To this end, said Mr Khalid, the PTB had decided that onward support price for tobacco will be announced with the commencement of marketing season in Oct/Nov. This will enable the growers to go for any cash crop which they consider financially viable, he added.