Falling Prices Raise The Specter of A Crop Holiday

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 06/10/2011

Concerned about a continuing drop in the tobacco prices being offered by buyers in Andhra Pradesh, growers in Prakasam district have launched a signature campaign to press for the announcement of a crop holiday by the Tobacco Board. As was reported here yesterday, the situation was believed to be so serious that the state's Chief Minister, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, last week agreed to provide up to Rs200 million to help fund a minimum support price for tobacco growers. The Chief Minister said that he would bring the issue of poor prices to the attention of the Indian government and he directed traders to offer at least Rs124 per kg for tobacco. The Vellampalli II auction platform farmers' leader, B Seetaiah, said that growers were fed up with the attitude of manufacturers and exporters. He said that they had cut prices even further since the Chief Minister's intervention and that growers had reached the point where they could not afford to incur losses year after year. One of the problems here is that grower costs have gone up sharply as unhelpful weather this season has meant that some growers have had to raise seedlings three times. Yellampalli I platform farmers' leader, M Anjaiah, supported the call for a crop holiday. He said that growers felt that taking to the streets to press for a fair price was futile. It was better to switch to other crops, he added. Enditem