PESHAWAR (February 11 2004): The tobacco companies have cut down their demand of tobacco by 32 percent for the current calendar year, sources in Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) told Business Recorder on Tuesday.

According to a table prepared by the board for distribution among the tobacco growers of the province the requirement of the tobacco for the companies, which was 51 million kilogram during last year, has been cut down to 38.906 kilograms for the current year.

The projected requirement for the tobacco crop 2004 of flue-cured Virginia, white patta and dark air-cured were lowered by 32.11 percent, 36.56 percent and 33.72 percent respectively.

However, the requirement for those of Burley has been increased by one per cent compared to production or purchase by the tobacco companies during last year.

According to the requirement, Lakson Tobacco Company would be required 18 million kilograms of flue-cured Virginia, 0.400 million kilograms Dark air-cured, 0.800 million kilograms of White patta and 0.250 million kilograms of Burley.

The total requirement of the company has been projected as 19.450 million kilograms.

Similarly, Pakistan Tobacco Company would purchase 10.250 million kilograms of the total crop. It would purchase 7.700 million kilograms of flue-cured Virginia, 0.450 million kilograms of Dark air-cured Virginia, 0.200 million kilograms of White patta and 1.900 million kilograms of Burley.

The third large tobacco company is F.S. Tobacco Company, whose projected target of purchase has been fixed at 7.500 million kilogram and that would also be only flue-cured Virginia tobacco. Other small companies purchased a nominal commodity of the produced crop.

In this connection, when Business Recorder contacted secretary Pakistan Tobacco Board Khan Faraz, he attributed this decline into cut in the consumption of cigarettes in the market.

However, he said that as a cash crop farmers used to grow it in abundance. He said that the board always pressurises the companies to purchase the surplus tobacco from the growers.

The secretary of the board said that due to the purchase of more tobacco than requirements, the inventories of the companies used to swell up, which result in the cut down of the requirements next year.

Courtesy Business Recorder