Tobacco crop size fixed at 84 million kg

Mysore, Apr 22 (UNI) The Tobacco Board has fixed the crop size of tobacco for 2006-07 at 84 million kg for Karnataka, marking a new high in crop size for Flue Cured Virginia (FCV) variety which was in high demand in the international market.

Board member B V Javare Gowda told UNI that the crop size was decided by the Board at its recent meeting with the Indian Tobacco Association, comprising traders and cigarette companies. Besides, it was decided to allow for ten per cent as nature's bounty.

Mr Gowda, also president of the Karnataka FCV Tobacco Growers' Association, said that although the ceiling on tobacco had been raised almost ten per cent, compared to last year's 76 million kg (83.7 million kg including nature's bounty), the crop size had fallen short of the demand placed before the Board by the Indian Tobacco Association and Karnataka FCV Tobacco Growers Association.

While the Indian Tobacco Association had urged the Board to fix the crop size at 105 million kg, the farmers' association sought a crop size of 100 million kg. There was a huge demand in the international market for tobacco grown in the Mysore region not only because of its superior quality and low nictone and tar content, but also owing to the substantial slump in production in other parts of the world on account of withdrawal of subsidy to tobacco growers.

He said the failure of the Indian Tobacco Association representatives to offer a gurantee on lifting 105 million kg of tobacco as sought by them had forced the Board to fix the crop size at 84 million kg.

The State was having 56,630 tobacco barrens, of which 80 per cent were from the Mysore region. Tobacco was being cultivated in 73,000 hectares of land in the State. The annual turnover from tobacco was Rs 8,000 crore, including Rs 1,300 crore from foreign exchange.

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