SWABI: Tobacco growers and their representatives on Saturday unanimously demanded that the federal Ministry of National Food Security hold consultations with farmers before abolishing the tobacco weighted average price (WAP) mechanism and amending tobacco laws.

They said the federal cabinet had been informed that tobacco farmers earned a profit of 26.41 per cent under the minimum indicative price (MIP) during 2024-25. However, they claimed farmers had actually earned only about 4.81pc under the MIP, while profits under the WAP stood at around 5.07pc instead of the 67.33pc presented to the cabinet.

Addressing a press conference, Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) former director Muhammad Ayaz Khan said the federal government was planning to amend the Tobacco Marketing Rules, 2016, and the tobacco marketing law, Martial Law Order (MLO) 487, to abolish the WAP mechanism used to determine the annual MIP for tobacco.

“Tobacco is completely different from other crops. It costs about Rs2 million per hectare to cultivate, and farmers grow it in unbearable heat,” he said.

• Demand consultations before changes to tobacco laws • Term official profit figures presented to cabinet ‘misleading’

The growers alleged that the ministry had presented misleading figures on farmers’ earnings to the federal cabinet to justify abolishing the WAP. They said inflation and markup had been included in farmers’ income calculations even though these were production costs and could not be treated as profit.

Mr Khan said the PTB had estimated tobacco production at 3,630kg per hectare during 2023-24, whereas production at the board’s research stations was around 2,100kg per hectare. He said windstorms damaged the crop, reducing the average yield per hectare to about 2,900kg. With the WAP fixed at Rs709 per kg, the gross income per hectare amounted to Rs2,056,100.

According to PTB data, the cost of cultivating one hectare of tobacco was Rs1,750,749, leaving a net income of Rs305,351 per hectare. Spread over eight months, this translated into a profit of about 17pc, not the 67pc presented to the federal cabinet, he said.

Mr Khan said PTB had estimated production at 3,623kg per hectare in 2024-25, while cultivation costs increased to Rs1,804,000. The WAP was fixed at Rs719 per kg, but companies entered into agreements with farmers to purchase only 2,100kg per hectare.

He said the crop was again damaged by natural calamities, reducing average production to about 2,750kg per hectare. Of this, companies purchased 2,100kg at the WAP under the agreements, while the remaining 650kg was bought at the MIP of Rs545 per kg after the crop was declared surplus.

According to him, farmers earned Rs1,509,900 by selling 2,100kg at Rs719 per kg and another Rs354,250 by selling 650kg at Rs545 per kg, taking total gross income to Rs1,864,150. After deducting cultivation costs of Rs1,804,000, the net income stood at only Rs60,150.

“This means the profit for eight months’ work was only about 3.3pc in 2024-25, not 67pc,” he said.

Mr Khan said 2022-23 was the only year in which tobacco growers earned substantial profits. Although the MIP had been fixed at Rs310 per kg, reduced supply and increased demand triggered competition among companies, pushing the market price up to Rs700 per kg.

As a result, farmers earned about Rs1,571,000 in profit over eight months. It was one of the few years in which tobacco growers made reasonable earnings, he said.

Iqbal Khan Shewa, patron-in-chief of the Khasthkar Ittehad Association, said 2024-25 was a calamity-hit year in which the tobacco crop suffered extensive damage. He alleged that companies refused to purchase low-grade tobacco, large quantities of which were still lying in farmers’ warehouses.

“The losses pushed tobacco farmers deep into debt. If the federal government wants the facts, it should conduct an independent survey of tobacco farmers,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2026