Pakistan's Tobacco Growers Losing Money

Source from:  tobaccoreporter.com Thursday, November 16, 2006 11/20/2006

Tobacco growers in Pakistan this year lost on average almost Rs7.00 for each kg of tobacco they sold, according to a report in the Dawn newspaper quoting Anjuman-i-Kashthkaran's provincial general secretary, Ismail Jan Khan. The average production cost was said to have been Rs60.00 per kg while the average price offered had been Rs53.15 per kg. The growers blame the buyers for this situation, but the buyers counter that Pakistan's tobacco regulations ensure that grower prices increase from season to season, no matter what the quality of the tobacco is. This situation, they say, makes domestic tobacco uncompetitive on world markets and can encourage growers to plant more tobacco than demand dictates. The total production of flue-cured this year was put at 74 million kg against a demand of 67.92 million kg, even though yields were said to have been down from 2,500-2,600 kg per ha in 2005 to 2,100 kg per ha this year. Enditem