SWABI: The national and multinational companies plan to buy over 78,000 tonnes of different varieties of tobacco, this year, with purchasing process beginning during the current week, Dawn learnt on Wednesday.

Sources said that the total demand for Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco for the current year was more than 74,000 tonnes.

They added that Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) and its sister organisations were expected to purchase 36,000 tonnes of tobacco, including 34,000 tonnes FCV, 1,100 tonnes Dark Air-Cured (DAC) and 800 tonnes (White Patta) WP. They said that second main purchaser was Philip Morris International, Pakistan, with a 3,700 tonnes target.

This year, the expected production of FCV from all tobacco growing areas is 80,000 tonnes and WP is over 11,000 tonnes.

”As compared to the previous year demand for FCV and DAC is up by 19.30 and 50 per cent, respectively, for the current year, while there is reduction in demand for WP and Burley by 27 and 10 per cent, respectively,” said a leaf manager.

Officials of Pakistan Tobacco Company and Philip Morris International said that FCV and WP, which are used in cigarette and snuff manufacturing, were widely grown in Swabi, Mardan, Buner, Mansehra and Charsadda districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They said that only DAC was grown in Gujarat, Mianwali and Okara districts of Punjab province.

“If we compare Khyber Pakhtunkhwa varieties with those of Punjab there is great difference in quality as the land and climate in KP are more suitable to producing tobacco varieties than in Punjab,” said an official.

Meanwhile, sources said that the purchasing companies conducted their own surveys, each year before purchasing FCV or WP varieties of tobacco. They said if the yield was more than expected then the companies offered low price to the growers, thus exploiting their conditions.

The sources said that the companies’ refusal to purchase non-recommend varieties of tobacco was a ploy to force the growers to lower prices of their produce.

However, Khalid Khan, the district president of Kisan Board, said the companies would be asked to purchase all the varieties. “The purchasing companies have created the non-recommend variety issue just to offer lesser price for some tobacco varieties. We will fight for the rights of the growers,” he vowed.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2014