ISLAMABAD: Farmers expressed serious concern that the total tobacco production area has sharply decreased from 50,000 hectares in 2013 to 34,000 hectares in 2022, reflecting a decrease of 16,000 hectares.
The data of the Pakistan Tobacco Board was shared by a group of farmers/growers and experts with reporters during an interaction at the National Press Club here on Monday.
According to the Pakistan Tobacco Board’s statistics, the total production was 130 million kilograms in 2012-13 and came down to 108 million kilograms last year. However, the industry continued to survive and contributed to the nation’s economy due to its farmers’ sheer hard work and perseverance.
Climate experts blamed climate change, global warming, and shifting rain patterns as the leading causes behind this downfall. On the other hand, farmers believed the crisis is more man-made than an outcome of environmental factors.
Haji Rustam Khan, a 65-year-old Tobacco farmer from Mansehra and a member of the Pakistan Tobacco Board, believed the government’s neglect has primarily destroyed tobacco production. “Unfortunately, the authorities were unable to realize that they were harming the national economy by ignoring the tobacco farming sector, which earns Rs3 billion from excise duty alone.
Mohammed Nadeem, a tobacco farmer claimed that he once tried to commit suicide because he lost his precious crop as he was not able to buy fertilizers and pesticides.
Latest data revealed that Pakistan is among the top 10 countries producing the finest tobacco in the world. The country exported tobacco worth US$78 million last year to 44 countries.
Switzerland was at the top of Pakistan’s export recipient countries, whereas four GCC countries constituted the top six markets for Pakistani tobacco and its related products.
China is a vital tobacco producer and is rapidly increasing its share in production. India is also counted as the third-largest producer after Brazil, followed by the United States. These four countries produce about two-thirds of tobacco worldwide.
They highlighted that leading tobacco producer in Pakistan is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa among its four provinces, and it is the hub of all tobacco-allied activities.
Seventy-eight percent or 3/4 of the tobacco produced in Pakistan grows in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the remaining 22 percent grows in the other three provinces.
The tobacco production per hectare in KP is 14 percent greater than the average world production while 22 percent from the average domestic production.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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