5 months ago
2
Flue-Cured Virginia tobacco(FCV) farmers from Prakasam, Nellore, East Godavari and West Godavari districts connected Tuesday met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, seeking his urgent involution to reappraisal and rotation backmost the caller steep hike successful excise work connected cigarettes.
Representatives told the Chief Minister that the implicit 70% summation successful excise work had already disrupted the baccy worth chain, adjacent earlier the commencement of the existent selling season. They said cigaret manufacturers had reduced offtake, creating uncertainty successful FCV auctions, depressing prices and triggering distress among farmers babelike connected the crop.
The delegation, led by G. Seshagiri and B. Bramaiah, some erstwhile vice-chairmen of the Tobacco Board, alleged that the crisp taxation hike was fuelling illicit cigaret commercialized and smuggling, starring to a surge of untaxed and unregulated products successful the market. Excessive taxation, they said, was shrinking the ineligible cigaret marketplace and diverting depletion to illicit channels alternatively than reducing wide demand.
Pointing retired that cigarettes stay the superior ineligible outlet for FCV tobacco, the farmers said immoderate contraction successful the assemblage would straight interaction auctions, purchaser information and agrarian employment. Andhra Pradesh, they noted, is simply a large FCV-producing State, with lakhs of families babelike connected cultivation and allied activities.
Mr. Naidu patiently heard the concerns and assured the delegation that the contented would beryllium examined earnestly and taken up with the Union government.
