Black Soil Growers Seek Exit Plan

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 12/01/2011

Tobacco growers in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India, have appealed to the Tobacco Board either to secure remunerative prices for their leaf or provide them with compensation sufficient to allow them to grow alternative crops, according to a story in The Hindu. The cost of tobacco cultivation has gone up steeply in recent times and traders are unwilling to pay the prices the growers expect. The traders cite a lack of demand for tobacco grown on the black cotton soils of the East Godavari and Krishna districts. Some growers said they were willing to give up tobacco cultivation, provided the board could secure adequate compensation. Others wanted the board to allow them to market on the auction floors of West Godavari district tobacco grown on local red soils. Enditem