Irate tobacco growers staged a demonstration in front of the Tobacco Board’s regional office here on Thursday in protest against the plummeting prices of various grades of tobacco in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Leading the protest, former Tobacco Board member P. Bhadri Reddy said that the commodity board should first ensure sale of bright, medium and low-grade varieties before allowing sale of black perished low (BPL) grade variety for a low price of ₹25 per kg.
“Sale of BPL variety will take a further toll on the market,” feared Ongole II Tobacco Growers Welfare Association president V.V. Prasad.
“Farmers will not allow the sale of BPL variety fixed for Saturday as this will go against the interests of the growers,” said another farmer leader B. Ramanjaneyulu.
Authorised quota
The Tobacco Board should allow its auctioning only at the fag-end after completion of the authorised quota for each grower, he said.
There was no improvement in the prices of various grades of tobacco now, they said, adding that the rejection rate by traders was more than 30%.
Farmers in Southern Black Soil region have sold 11.34 million kg of tobacco so far while their counterparts in Southern Light Soil (SLS) region had liquidated 12.24 million kg as against the total estimated production of over 85 million kg in both the regions put together.
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