The Hindu : Front Page : Watershed year for Indian tobacco

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Saturday, Jul 05, 2008
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Watershed year for Indian tobacco

Ramesh Susarla

GUNTUR: The Indian Flue-cured Virginia Tobacco farmers never had it so good, with additional income generated from auctions totalling Rs. 616 crore in Andhra Pradesh alone.

The domestic average price realised for a kg of tobacco crossed the dream psychological barrier of two dollars, supported by Indian tobacco commanding an international price of 6.5 dollars.

"This has been a watershed year in farm prices, export volumes and foreign exchange earnings in the Indian tobacco industry," is how Tobacco Board Chairman J. Suresh Babu summed up the 2008 auction season-end on Friday. He told The Hindu that A.P. farmers did a total business of Rs.1,401 crore this season, with average price offered shooting up from Rs. 47.47 a kg last season to Rs. 84.73 and the highest bid touching Rs. 140 a kg.

There was a marginal decrease in the total quantum auctioned from 171.9 million kg last year to 165 million kg, but the export volumes grew by 12 per cent and in terms of value there was a growth of 42 per cent.

Per barn earning went up by 100 per cent averaging an increase of Rs. 1.46 lakh a barn over the last season. The introduction of electronic auctioning system at Jangareddygudem was yet another milestone in the history. The 78.5 per cent increase in farm prices, with an average hike of Rs. 37.27 a kg till the last day of auctioning, was never heard of.

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