Surplus tobacco stock: PTB asked to ensure purchase from growers at govt rates

ISLAMABAD: Speaker National Assembly and Chairman Special Committee on Agriculture Products, Asad Qaiser on Thursday, directed the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) to ensure purchase (picking) of surplus stock of tobacco from growers at government notified rates.

Qaiser, while presiding over special committee meeting asked the PTB Chairman, Munir Azam, to personally visit market for ensuring purchase of surplus tobacco from the growers. He also asked the PTB chairman to take action against those companies, which make payment in respect of tobacco purchased from growers after a long time.

The committee also directed the PTB and the Minister of National Food Security and Research to conduct a third-party audit for determining cost of production of tobacco crop after tobacco growers raised reservations during the meeting over the matter.

Azam informed the meeting that under Marketing Control Rules 2016 regarding payment, tobacco companies are bound to make payment to growers in respect of tobacco purchase within 30 days.

Companies are bound to arrange payment/due to growers according to Marketing Control Rules 2016, he said, adding that if any company was found involved in such violation, action would be taken against them.

He said that the main reason behind slow purchase of tobacco as 31 small companies have not start purchase on time. The PTB has issued warning to these companies and now 24 out of 31 companies have started purchase of tobacco, he said, adding that so far, tobacco companies have purchased 54.6 percent tobacco.

The PTB chairman said that estimated production of tobacco is 71 million kg while purchase quota of tobacco companies is 56.8 million kg.

Ayaz Khan, a tobacco grower and representative of the tobacco grower association said that nowadays tobacco companies and purchasers give six-month time on their vouchers for payment in respect of tobacco to growers.

He said that the tobacco companies did not purchase surplus tobacco from farmers; therefore, the PTB needs to make efforts to ensure sale of the surplus stock.

He further told the committee that due to mismanagement and anti-growers policies of tobacco companies, poor farmers spend days in scorching heat in queues on roads outside purchase depot to sell their crop.

Tobacco companies compel farmers to sell their crop to middleman at lower price, he said.

Irshad Khan,Philip Morris International (PMI) Pakistan said that under the law, the PTB has to divide surplus tobacco on tobacco companies and tobacco companies are bound to purchase surplus stock at government notified rates. Abdul Karim Khan, Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa told the committee that there are many lacunas in the tobacco-related law and after amendment in the law, a large number of problems of tobaccos growers would be resolved.

He said that different issued faced by tobacco exports should be resolved to provide relief to the farmers.

Atif Khan, MPA of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said that efforts should be made to decrease cost of production of tobacco crop and ensure provision of new varieties and latest technology to increase production.

He also said that the Ministry of Commerce and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should hold a meeting with the exporters and address their grievances as early as possible.

The committee directed the PTB and the Ministry of Commerce to devise a way out for resolving the issues of the farmers and the exporters within one month.

A senior official of the Ministry of Commerce, while briefing the committee about export of agriculture products, said that according to regional countries share in agriculture product exports, the total share of Pakistan is 0.3 percent, India 2.3 percent, Indonesia 2.3 percent, and Turkey 1.3 percent.

The total agriculture sector export in 2019-20 and 2020-21 was $4,762 million and $4,836 million respectively, he said.

He told the committee that Pakistan's agricultural exports have grown by two percent during the last two fiscal years. The current tariff rationalisation and free trade agreement with China would provide significant boost to agri-exports, he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021