The Andhra Pradesh Tobacco Growers’ Cooperative Union plans to intervene in the market to shore up the prices of the low grade variety of tobacco which has faced high rejection from the traders.
Union chairman V. Basivi Reddy told the media after interacting with a group of growers here on Sunday that they had drawn the attention of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and Agriculture Minister K. Kannababu to the plight of the growers, who were struggling to market their produce following the lockdown imposed to combat coronavirus. “A decision in this regard will be taken soon,” he said.
Previous experience
“The union had intervened in the market in the past when the farmers faced a distress situation, sold the produce abroad and repaid the amount advanced to it to the State government,” a group farmers said, and demanded purchase of at least 20 million kg of low grade varieties from the market.
The prices for various grades of tobacco, especially low and medium grades, had gone southwards, the farmers said, adding that if the government could allocate ₹50 crore, the union would be able to purchase the produce from them and repay the government after exporting it to other countries.
While the exporters kept away from the market on the pretext of lack of confirmed orders, the domestic cigarette manufacturers drove down the prices, especially the low grade varieties.
