SWABI, Jan 23: Tobacco growers and dealers, district government and officials of the local administration on Tuesday demanded that the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) should increase the price of tobacco for upcoming season, otherwise a campaign would be launched to motivate growers to stop tobacco cultivation.

The demand was made at a meeting held at the office of the district nazim and attended by representatives of the NWFP Anjuman-i-Kashtkaran, buyers, district coordination officer, representatives of the Tobacco Dealers Association, a member of the PTB, nazim of the Chota Lahor tehsil and leaders of the Ittehad-i-Kashtkaran.

The growers said that usually prices of cotton and rice were announced in advance but the price of tobacco was not announced because, according to them, tobacco companies and PTB members were in league to exploit them.

District Nazim Shahram Khan admitted that the price of tobacco was low and stressed the need for working out a mechanism for increasing the price.

Anjuman-i-Kashtkaran’s provincial general secretary Ismail Jan Khan informed the meeting about financial problems growers faced due to the low tobacco price.

Tobacco Dealers Association president Iftikhar Ahmad said they had held meetings with growers and a majority of them had expressed willingness to give up tobacco cultivation if tobacco companies and the PTB did not come up with a reasonable price increasing formula.

DCO Mohammad Adil proposed constituting a jirga comprising parliamentarians, growers, growers’ associations and dealers to meet representatives of the PTB and tobacco companies to settle the issue.

PTB marketing director Ali Gohar said the board had convened a meeting on Feb 2 to finalise the price of tobacco for the upcoming season from June to August.