Tobacco farmers press for Markfed intervention

Farmers had struggled to provide high quality tobacco within the conventional rising areas of Nellore and Prakasam districts regardless of unseasonal rains beneath the affect of the very extreme cyclonic storm, Nivar, which pressured them to go for re-plantation.

Farmers within the Southern Black Soil (SBS) and Southern Light Soil (SLS) areas had been hoping to get a good returns, thanks to raised than anticipated grade out-turn with the brilliant and medium grade varieties accounting for a majority of the crop.

But their hopes had been dashed as the costs went southwards within the auctions that had been disrupted by the second wave of COVID-19 in the course of the peak advertising and marketing season for the second yr in a row.

The auctions remained suspended for over two weeks because the Tobacco Board staff and staff had contracted the virus.

While the brilliant grade varieties had attracted consumers at a premium value of as much as ₹210 per kg the earlier yr, they fetched costs ranging between ₹165 and ₹180 per kg this yr, which additionally noticed the price of cultivation going up by 20% to ₹1,20,000 per acre, stated a gaggle of farmers within the Ongole II public sale platform.

Low grade varieties had fallen under the ₹100 kg mark after greater than two months of auctions, stated a farmer, V.V. Prasad.

Exporters shrink back

Except for a number one home cigarette producer, which lifted about 70% of the produce from the market, different gamers, together with exporters, had not turned up in good energy in view of the “uncertain international market condition.”

“It is time for the State government to press into service the Markfed to arrest the fall in prices,” demanded a progressive farmer from Kandukur, T. Ramanaiah.

Farmers within the two areas had been but to market about 20 million kg of tobacco, largely low grade varieties, which had no takers at ₹100 per kg. As a end result, the rejection fee was over 15%.

Meanwhile, anticipating an imminent third wave of coronavirus, the Tobacco Board had determined to hasten the offloading of bales to finish the auctions by July finish.

“We plan to facilitate auctioning of about 1,000 bales daily to liquidate the stocks, now that the health situation has vastly improved,” stated SLS Regional Manager D. Venugopal.

Though the auctions had begun in the midst of March with vivid grade varieties fetching ₹180 per kg, the typical costs for numerous grades had come down steadily.

Farmers within the SLS area have to this point marketed 21.84 million kg at a mean value of ₹152.97 per kg whereas their counterparts within the SBS area have offered 22.27 million kg at a mean value of ₹154.95 per kg, in accordance with public sale stories compiled by the Tobacco Board.