Country not producing excess tobacco, argues expert

Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) director Kapil Deo Singh on Friday counselled all players connected with the tobacco sector to come out of the myth that there had been excess crop of tobacco.

Presiding over the 27th Formation Day celebrations of the Tobacco Board here, he said, "we produced only 600 million kg tobacco of which the problematic flue-cured variety (FCV) was only 200 million kg. China and Brazil produced 10 times and 3 times more than our FCV tobacco respectively. Though we were the second largest tobacco-producing country and the third largest exporting country in the world, we produced a small quantity of tobacco."

He asked the farmers to preserve their respective unique crop varieties such as Mysore tobacco, NLS (northern light soils), SLS (southern light soils) and KLS (Karnataka light soils) tobaccos and Yeleswaram Burley.

"At present, filler types dominated our cultivation. We must strive to grow flavoured tobaccos in one-third KLS and 15-20 per cent in NLS areas."

He said the farmers should use green manure, which would reduce harmful contents like tar, TSNA (tobacco-specific nitrosamines) and nicotine in the crop.

He felt that it might not be possible for the farmers to switch over to full-scale organic farming. He also asked farmers to make use of CTRI-developed least harmful tobacco hybrids.

Karanam Balaramakrishna Murthy, MP, reminded that the board had passed a unanimous resolution earlier, seeking a meagre Rs 20 crore central assistance. Twenty-two Andhra MPs represented to the commerce minister, Arun Jaitley, on this but to no avail.

The centre was earning Rs 8,200 crore by way of excise duty and Rs 1,000 crore as forex from tobacco sector. Yet it could not release a paltry Rs. 20 crore, he rued.

Tobacco Board chairman P Dayachari said the board could not take up tobacco exports as demanded by certain sections since it lacked experience and expertise in that field.

He appealed to the farmers to make use of the board's new programme "�Tobacco Quality Circles "� which would try to redress their grievances to the best extent possible.

Ch Ranga Rao, a Tobacco Board member, said that even after 27 years of formation of the board, the farmers still felt that they had been denied rightful prices. Price stabilisation remained a daydream, he added.

A founder of the board and former vice-chairman, B V Sivaiah, regretted that the board remained helpless as the farmers were systematically pauperised.

Virginia Tobacco Growers' Association leader Y Sivaji said that as Karnataka auctions began first, and continued even during Andhra auctions, the latter lost up to Rs 100 crore every year. He appealed to the board to open all the auction floors in the state simultaneously this month.

The board member from Karnataka, Chaudaiah, said unauthorised crop had fetched better prices than the authorised crop.

He said that due to wrong news about the crop size in Karnataka, tobacco prices plunged. It was said that 80-85 million kg crop was being harvested in that state, while in fact the crop harvested was only 70 million kg.

The Karnataka farmers were now reeling under a financial crisis, he informed. ITC ILTD division chief executive S Janardhana Reddy said Brazil, China and other countries with world class quality and massive quantity were giving tough competition to India.

Prices at the international and the domestic levels were coming down year after year. Maddi Venkateswara Rao, an exporter, said the board should also fix a closing date for auctions. Loan amounts sanctioned for exporters should be increased.

Kolli Nageswara Rao sought completion of auctions by April and a minimum price of Rs 50 per kg tobacco crop.

C Venkateswara Rao, a farmers' leader, pleaded for sanction of minimum support price for tobacco, depending on which minimum export price might be formulated.

The Tobacco Board felicitated 29 best farmers on the occasion. M Venkataratnam, a former board chairman, was the chief guest.