The Senate Standing Committee on Food, Agriculture and Livestock, which met at the Parliament House Monday unanimously finalised and approved the recommendations prepared by the Sub-Committee constituted earlier for reviewing and examining issues like the prevalent system of fixing the minimum price of tobacco, open auction system, performance of the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) besides checking the smuggling of fake brands etc.
Chaired by Senator Shuja-ul-Mulk, meeting recommended that the minimum per kg price of tobacco (green) should not be less than Rs 150/- as has already been proposed by the main Committee keeping in view the international prices of tobacco, the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) should be revamped and reconstituted and its members should included elected representatives of the people besides members from registered bodies of growers. The Sub-Committee also demanded that the entire term of each member should not exceed two consecutive membership periods (each consisting of three years) while its Chairman should essentially be an elected Parliamentarian.
The Sub-Committee inter alia observed that the collection of Cess Fund requires thorough revision because many loopholes in its network prompted large scale tax evasion due to concealment of tobacco yield, consumption and production all over the country. Verily, the Sub-Committee estimated that the collection of Cess Fund, presently just Rs 170 million annually, can go up to Rs 400 million or even more provided that Pakistan Tobacco Board is purged from all black sheep who are adamant to deprive the tobacco growers and devastate the national economy as well.
It also called for sending the scientists working in PTB abroad for better training and research. Members demanded that there should be greater representation from the tobacco growing areas of NWFP in the PTB as compared to rest of the provinces where the amount of tobacco grown is insignificant.
The meeting urged the government to address the issues of adulteration in pesticides, ensuring an even handed and transparent procurement procedure. It said that tobacco is one of the most important cash corps and the farmers associated with it must be given a fair deal. The meeting was attended by Senators Muhammad Abbas Komaili, Raza Muhammad Raza and Sahibzada Khalid Jan besides senior officials of the government.-PR