Andhra Pradesh: Farmers urge Centre to regulate Virginia tobacco scrap

Sale of these products should be allowed only on auction platforms, they say

June 25, 2022 01:39 am | Updated 10:58 am IST - ONGOLE

Tobacco growers urging YSRCP MP Magunta Srinivasulu to use his good offices with the Centre to regulate sale of tobacco scrap in Ongole on Friday.

Tobacco growers urging YSRCP MP Magunta Srinivasulu to use his good offices with the Centre to regulate sale of tobacco scrap in Ongole on Friday. | Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT

Farmers in the traditional tobacco growing areas in Prakasam and SPSR Nellore districts on Friday urged the Centre to prohibit trade of ‘Padu gulla’, top-leaf, bits and scrap of Virginia tobacco outside the auction platforms under the control of the Tobacco Board.

Farmers, who met under the leadership of Tobacco Board member Mareddy Subrahmanyeswara Reddy here, demanded introduction of new provisions in the existing Sections 13 and 13-A of Tobacco Board Act to prohibit the sales and purchases of padu gulla, top-leaf, bits and scrap of Virginia Tobacco by the growers as also traders.

At present, there are no regulations on these products that have a sizeable volume of about 10 to 15 million kg. These products were being sold by persons other than the registered tobacco growers. As a result, the growers incurred losses due to reduction in demand for their produce being sold in the authorised auction platforms. Due to unregulated sales, the Centre also lost revenue. Further, these unregulated transactions went into the making of illicit cigarettes, they explained.

These products should be allowed to be sold only at the auction platforms after levying normal service charges without adding this quantity to the authorised quantity of crop decided by the crop regulator. The fee on sale of these products would be an additional income to the Tobacco Board, the farmers pointed out.

They urged Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy to take up the issue with the Centre which had come up with the draft Tobacco Board (Amendment) Bill, 2022 as suggested by the Tobacco Board to promote ease of doing business in the Tobacco sector and invited suggestions from the farmers and other stakeholders.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.