AP tobacco crop size hiked to 150m kg
The current Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco crop for India’s major producer Andhra Pradesh has been revised upwards to 150 million kg.
By Raghu Krishnan, TNN |
BANGALORE: The current Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco crop for India’s major producer Andhra Pradesh has been revised upwards to 150 million kg .
The decision was taken at a Tobacco Board meeting in Hyderabad on Tuesday to revise the authorised AP crop-size, pegged at 129m kg on July 20. Since this is a regulated commodity, the FCV crop-size for AP and Karnataka is fixed by the Tobacco Board at a joint meeting of officials and stake-holders.
While this might seem like a bonanza to the tune of an additional 21m kg, the reality is that it could actually work out to an increase of 8m kg. The July 20th decision to maintain the status quo at 129m kg also had a proviso for what the Tobacco Board calls a 10% Nature’s Bounty. Which meant that the actual amount which could be auctioned without penalty of the ’06-07 crop was 129m kg plus 10%, adding up to 142m kg, as happened for the ’05-06 crop.
The latest revision of the coming ’06-07 crop size pegs it at 150m kg, inclusive of Nature’s Bounty. Interestingly, the industry had sought an authorised AP crop-size of 171m kg. The tobacco growers’ associations in AP had said it was unrealistic to maintain the status quo at a time when exports for Indian tobacco were looking up with a 10% drop in the Brazilian crop to 630m kg and with the output in Zimbabwe at its lowest level in years. The Indian Tobacco Association (ITA) had expressed disappointment over the July 20 decision. A representation had been made to the PM.
When contacted on Wednesday, ITA president Chinta Venkateshwara Rao expressed satisfaction with the upward revision to 150m kg, inclusive of Nature’s Bounty.
“If the coming AP crop-size is 150m kg, Nature’s Bounty would not be required. However, if the AP crop-size and demand is more, we can always request the Tobacco Board to relax the penalty on the sale of unauthorised and excess crop which, at present, is levied at the rate of 15% of value plus Rs 2 per kg,” he said.
The growers felt it could have been hiked further. The Tobacco Growers’ Welfare Association of Guntur secretary G Sivarama Prasad said” “We would have been even more satisfied with an authorised AP crop-size of 142m kg plus 10% Nature’s Bounty.Karnataka’s crop-size was earlier fixed at 84m kg plus Nature’s Bounty.
The decision was taken at a Tobacco Board meeting in Hyderabad on Tuesday to revise the authorised AP crop-size, pegged at 129m kg on July 20. Since this is a regulated commodity, the FCV crop-size for AP and Karnataka is fixed by the Tobacco Board at a joint meeting of officials and stake-holders.
While this might seem like a bonanza to the tune of an additional 21m kg, the reality is that it could actually work out to an increase of 8m kg. The July 20th decision to maintain the status quo at 129m kg also had a proviso for what the Tobacco Board calls a 10% Nature’s Bounty. Which meant that the actual amount which could be auctioned without penalty of the ’06-07 crop was 129m kg plus 10%, adding up to 142m kg, as happened for the ’05-06 crop.
The latest revision of the coming ’06-07 crop size pegs it at 150m kg, inclusive of Nature’s Bounty. Interestingly, the industry had sought an authorised AP crop-size of 171m kg. The tobacco growers’ associations in AP had said it was unrealistic to maintain the status quo at a time when exports for Indian tobacco were looking up with a 10% drop in the Brazilian crop to 630m kg and with the output in Zimbabwe at its lowest level in years. The Indian Tobacco Association (ITA) had expressed disappointment over the July 20 decision. A representation had been made to the PM.
When contacted on Wednesday, ITA president Chinta Venkateshwara Rao expressed satisfaction with the upward revision to 150m kg, inclusive of Nature’s Bounty.
“If the coming AP crop-size is 150m kg, Nature’s Bounty would not be required. However, if the AP crop-size and demand is more, we can always request the Tobacco Board to relax the penalty on the sale of unauthorised and excess crop which, at present, is levied at the rate of 15% of value plus Rs 2 per kg,” he said.
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The growers felt it could have been hiked further. The Tobacco Growers’ Welfare Association of Guntur secretary G Sivarama Prasad said” “We would have been even more satisfied with an authorised AP crop-size of 142m kg plus 10% Nature’s Bounty.Karnataka’s crop-size was earlier fixed at 84m kg plus Nature’s Bounty.
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