Leaf growers renew call for FDI in India

Indian tobacco farmers operating under the banner of the United Association of Tobacco Growers (UATG) are urging the Indian government to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tobacco sector, according to a story in the most recent issue of the BBM Bommidala Group newsletter.

The farmers believe that opening the sector to FDI would allow them to realize remunerative prices for their crops.

Tobacco growers in India, unlike their counterparts in countries such as Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Kenya, were currently unable to benefit fully from favourable international market conditions, said UATG secretary C. Yashwant Kumar.

Meanwhile, UATG’s president, P. Bhadri Reddy, said it was high time the government opened up the sector to global players and turned India into a market that operated in the wider interests of growers.