Tobacco growers in Pakistan have rejected the per kilogram price set by Pakistan Tobacco Company and Philip Morris International Pakistan, reports Dawn.
The companies offered PKR425 ($1.48) per kilogram for Virginia tobacco, according to Arif Khan, central president of Ittehad Kashtkaran, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khan said this is unrealistic due to the rising prices of fertilizer, labor, pesticides and other costs.
The Economic Coordination Council of Federal Ministry for Commerce set the minimum price at PKR310 per kilogram.
“In the open market, businessmen and small companies are purchasing tobacco at PKR500 per kilogram, offering PKR76 more than the multinational companies,” said Khan, who also noted that if the companies did not increase prices, the growers would be forced to stage protest in front of the local offices.
“After Eid, we will evolve a joint line of action,” said Liaqat Yousafzai, central president of the Tobacco Growers Association Pakistan, who also said they appealed to growers to stop taking produce to the companies’ buying centers.