SWABI, July 1: As the tobacco selling season kicks off here on Friday, the growers expressed concern over the low prices of the cash crop offered by the national and multinational companies, saying that production cost was much bigger than the prices offered.

The grower leaders said that their cost of production had reached Rs150 per kg while the companies were offering just Rs125 per kg. Earlier, the companies had announced that they would buy tobacco from the growers at minimum price of Rs104 per kg as against Rs95 per kg of year 2010.

Kashthkar Coordination Council president Liaquat Yusufzai and Kisan Board president Khalid Khan told this correspondent on Friday that they had rejected the new price.

“It is not acceptable to us. We will hold our meeting very soon to counter the tricks played by the companies,” said Mr Khalid.

In reply to a question, Mr Liaquat said that they had rejected the new price because the growers were already facing problems and the new policy of the companies would push them further into financial difficulties.

The purchase of Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco started at the depots of various tobacco companies in Swabi district at Yaqubi and Yar Hussain purchasing centres here. The growers and their leaders and the companies' officials attended the opening purchase with great enthusiasm. The buying process is expected to continue till mid August.

Representatives of the tobacco companies, when contacted, said that the total demand of the FCV was 68.73 million kg. They said that the Lakson Tobacco Company and Pakistan Tobacco Company and their affiliates were likely to buy 95 per cent of the FCV this year.

The growers alleged that tobacco companies had employed local traders as middlemen to boy the crop for them on cheap rates. They demanded that such traders should be discouraged so that growers could get fair return for their produce.

CHARSADDA: The Kisan Board here has rejected the low rates of FCV tobacco as various tobacco companies have started buying the commodity at their purchase centres.

An emergent meeting of the board with its district president Abdul Akbar was held here in Narhi, which was attended by a large number of growers.

They said that the companies had set tobacco price at Rs125 per kg while the actual cost was above Rs128 per kg, which means Rs3 per kg loss to the growers.

The board office-bearers and growers decided to stage a protest against the tobacco companies' policy in front of the Tobacco Purchase Depot, Mandani. They condemned the tobacco companies for the economic exploitation of poor growers.