SWABI: Local growers and their leaders on Monday rejected the new flue-cured Virginia tobacco price and warned they would agitate if multinational companies didn’t increase it reasonably.

According to them, last year, the minimum FCV tobacco price was Rs140 per kilogramme and the companies purchased it at Rs152 per kg.

However, the minimum price fixed by the federal commerce ministry for this year is Rs160 per kg and the companies are offering Rs166 per kg, which is not acceptable to them.

Kashtkar Coordination Council general secretary Liaquat Yousufzai told Dawn that companies and traders were bracing for another ‘exploitative tobacco buying season’ but the growers and their leaders had pledged to resist exploitation.

He said the tobacco growing expenditure had increased manifold over the last year but tobacco price had been increased by Rs8 per kg only, which was too little to be accepted by growers.

Kisan Board district president Khalid Khan said the firewood, labour, harvesting, grading and netting cost had seen a considerable increase during the last one year.

He said on one hand, labourers were not available on the market during the current month of Ramazan and on the other, buyers had come up with exploitative moves to the misery of growers.

Provincial president of Pakistan Kisan Council Nasir Khan said last year, the firewood price was Rs500 per 50kg but it had increased to Rs750 and if the transportation expenses were added, then the cost would go further up.

He said other expenditure of tobacco growing were also on the increase.

There are reports that growers are reluctant to take tobacco bales to the sale points set up by multinational companies for low rate being offered to them.

Representatives of multinational companies said the tobacco purchase would get momentum and it usually happened that at initial stage of buying season, growers had not shown enthusiasm.

They said growers were part of the meeting during which the price of FCV tobacco and other varieties were fixed.

“All participants agreed before the prices were fixed. I have the copies of the papers duly signed by growers,” a company representative said.

Published in Dawn, July 8th , 2014