Thousands of tobacco growers are finding it difficult to cover their costs of production with the prices currently being paid.
This was one of the concerns discussed during the second day of the International Tobacco Growers’ Association’s 31st annual general meeting, which was held in New Delhi last week.
For one thing, current prices made it difficult to meet the increasing level of compliance requirements that growers were expected to meet.
Growers were concerned, too, about the high rates of bale rejection on some auctions.
And given that leaf tobacco demand was being hit by the decline in tobacco-products consumption, growers thought that not enough effort was being made to control production on some important markets by moving to a system of contract buying.
And there was a need for contracts that covered more than one season, so as to ensure the sustainability of tobacco production.
Finally, growers were concerned for the future of their businesses because of the external threats posed by extreme regulation, such as that imposing standardized tobacco packaging and nicotine reductions. The association’s members approved a strategy paper and asked the ITGA Secretariat to contact the main buyers to debate their concerns. During the first day of the meeting, participants listened to various presentations about the world market for tobacco products and on the main threats posed by the seventh Conference of the Parties to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which is due to be held in New Delhi in November. The AGM elected with immediate effect a new board of directors comprising Daniel Green (USA Burley Stabilization Corporation), president; Reuben Maigwa (TAMA, Malawi), vice-president; and Tsvetan Filev (NAT Bulgaria), treasurer.
Meanwhile, Anthony Neill Ford of the Tobacco Association of Zambia was elected as the new chairman of ITGA for its African Region.