SWABI: National and multinational tobacco companies will start purchasing Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) from today (Monday).

Over 65,000 tonnes of tobacco would be purchased this season from the local growers, sources in the buying companies told Dawn on Sunday.

They said a total of 40 companies had placed their demands through the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) for the tobacco purchase. The sources said at a meeting in PTB office, Peshawar over a week ago, PTI officials told the companies to commence buying FCV from their respective purchasing centres till July 8.

The FCV is mainly used in manufacturing cigarettes and bulk of it would be purchased by Pakistan Tobacco Company (over 35.000 tonnes) and Phillip Morris (Pakistan) Limited (over 14,000 tonnes), said a leaf manger of a company.

The PTB officials warned they reserved the right to take prompt legal action against any violation of tobacco marketing law during the purchasing season or marketing of the crop, said the sources.

However, the growers’ leaders alleged that the past practices showed that PTB had failed to prevent illegal tobacco purchase in the province. They criticised the PTB role and said if concerned officials had performed their duties honestly the companies would not have been able to exploit the poor growers.

The sources said while the growers were satisfied with the multinational companies as they paid them on time, it were the national companies which exploited the farmers in the payment process.

Liaqat Yousufzai, general secretary of Kasthkar Coordination Council, said a special Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor inspection team had been set up to curb illegal tobacco purchase, this year. “The special team would pay surprise visits to the purchasing centres across the province,” he said.

Mr Yousufzai said the special team comprised a member of PTB, DSP, deputy commissioner or assistant commissioner of local district and a magistrate.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2015

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