SWABI: A two-month delay in announcing the annual procurement target appears to be a deliberate attempt to harm tobacco cultivators as national and multinational companies are further reducing their procurement targets for the upcoming year, industry sources told Dawn on Friday.

Continuing the downtrend, these companies have reduced their total tobacco requirements by 2.5 million kg, bringing the total to 74.810 million kilograms for the calendar year 2025, the sources confirmed to Dawn.

The sources said the total demand for 2025 would be lower by 3.24 per cent over the current year’s 77.322m kg. The demand was 85.5m kg in 2023.

According to the sources, the companies reduced their demand by 10.69m kg or 10.5pc during the last two years. Earlier, these purchasing companies had succeeded in luring tobacco cultivators to grow more.

Delayed quota announcement put growers in a quandary

Under the law, these companies must announce their required tobacco quota for the upcoming year through the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB), the sector regulator.

The Martial Law Order (MLO) 487, which regulates the purchase of tobacco in Pakistan, requires the buyer companies to announce their quota every year for the upcoming year by Oct 31, giving an option to the farmers whether they want to cultivate tobacco or wheat crops.

The farmers said that the wheat sowing period had already ended, and now, if the companies have reduced the quota, they have no other option except to grow tobacco. The sources lamented that the sector regulator has failed to protect cultivators from the manipulative practices of major tobacco-buying companies.

They said that the companies and the PTB would now tell the growers that they should execute agreements with the buyers of their choice but with a string that surplus produce would not be lifted.

The sources said the regulator’s inaction exposes the obvious nexus, leaving the cultivators at the

mercy of big companies, which, in connivance with the PTB, have forced the farmers to suffer financial losses for no fault.

“In fact, the companies are responsible for the entire mess,” lamented Liaqat Yousafzai, Central General Secretary of Kashthkar Coordination Council (KCC).

He was astonished at why the PTB did not question these companies regarding the two-month delayed announcement and why the MLO 487 was violated. “This situation suggests that the PTB officials are aligning with the buyers’ policies so that the PTB didn’t prevent their exploitative tactics.

When contacted, an official of a tobacco company, who is included in the team to conduct the demand survey, told Dawn, on condition of anonymity, that the companies knew that the upcoming purchasing season, which usually commences in June and ends in September every year, would be very critical.

“I appeal to all those growers who did not have the agreement of a company should give up the idea to cultivate tobacco because its selling would be an incurable headache,” Mr Yousafzai said, adding that growers are expected to produce surplus tobacco.

While sharing the tobacco demand of 84 companies with Dawn, some officials said out of 74.81m kg, the requirement for flue-cured Virginia (FCV) is around 70.5m, dark air-cured (DAC) 1.495m kg, white Patta tobacco 1.13m kg, barley 1.085m kg and sun-cured 0.6m kg. Out of 70.5m FCV, three leading companies would purchase 52.9m kg. Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) will procure 25m kg, Philip Morris Ltd 20m kg and Khyber Tobacco Company, a sister company of PTC, will lift 7.9m kg next year.

The officials said 81 small companies and cigarette manufacturers would purchase 17.6m kg of FCV.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024