Pakistani Growers Paid Less Than Cost of Production

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 10/18/2011

The Pakistan Tobacco Board has set up committees comprising representatives from the board, cigarette manufacturers, growers' groups and the Agriculture Policy Institute to determine leaf production costs and minimum prices for the 2012 season, according to a Right Vision News story. Board secretary, Numan Bashir, said the board would soon conduct surveys and interviews in the districts of Mardan, Buner and Swat, Mansehra, and Swabi in the North West Frontier Province (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) to seek inputs from concerned parties. But Asfand Yar Khan, a farmer from Swabi, said most of the growers were illiterate and therefore could not understand the cost of production forms; so they simply put their thumb impressions on the documents filled out on their behalf by board officials. He said the board did not compel cigarette manufacturers to offer farmers prices commensurate with their production costs. The Rs100-112 per kg price paid for the 2011 crop was below the production cost of more than Rs160 per kg, he added. Enditem