Pakistan Growers Say Imports are Unnecessary

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 08/22/2012

Tobacco growers' representatives in Pakistan have urged the government to prevent members of the Pakistan Tobacco Board from importing leaf tobacco from India when there is an adequate local supply, according to a News International story relayed by the TMA. Muhammad Zahir Khan, managing director of Walton Tobacco Company and senior vice-president of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Agriculture, said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province accounted for about 80 per cent of the country's tobacco production. This season, he added, growers were expected to produce an estimated 76 million kg of leaf. At the same time, Khan noted that the government's plan to discourage tobacco cultivation in line with the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control would deprive the province of more than Rs70 billion in annual income. Enditem