Although cyclone Mandous wreaked havoc on the tobacco plantation in south coastal Andhra Pradesh during the early phase of rabi, the enterprising tobacco growers, undeterred, went for replantation in over 26,000 of the 53,000 hectares of the standing crop.
As a result, the crop coverage reached 85,000 hectares this rabi as against over 66,000 hectares last year.
Now the farmers in Prakasam and SPSR Nellore districts are hoping against hope for the average price for the cured leaf to go up by at least 20% as the auctions are set to begin in two phases.
‘’The traders should take into account the Mandous effect on the crop and offer an average price of ₹200 per kg this year,” said a group of farmers gearing up to attend a crop auction under the Ongole I platform, commencing next week.
Favourable grade out-turn
The farmers’ toil was not wasted as the grade out-turn was favourable this time. The bright-grade varieties accounted for 56% of the crop. The medium grade accounted for 25% of the harvest and the rest are low-grade varieties, according to Tobacco Board Production Manager Krishna Sri, who is also in charge of the Southern Light Soil (SLS) and Southern Black Soil (SBS) regions.
Tobacco Board Production Manager Krishna Sri examining the quality of a cured crop at a tobacco barn near Ongole ahead of auctions. | Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
‘’However, the productivity was only between five to six quintals per acre this year as against about eight quintals per acre last year,” she told The Hindu after visiting some of the tobacco barns and examining the cured crop.
The production is estimated to be 53.20 million kg in the SBS region and 48.20 million kg in the SLS region this time. The crop regulator has fixed a higher cultivation quota of 142 million kg for Andhra Pradesh, allocating an 89.35 million kg limit for SLS and SBS regions for this season.
The leaf fetched a record average price of ₹179.19 per kg to farmers during the auctions held in the state for the 120.98 million kg marketed last year.
In Karnataka
Their Karnataka counterparts had an average price of ₹163.11 per kg last year. The market condition augured well for the farmers as bright-grade tobacco attracted traders in the price range of ₹220 to ₹230 per kg in the Mysuru region, now, after touching a peak of more than ₹260 per kg.
In the first phase, the auctions will commence on February 24 in Ongole I, Vellampalli, Podili and Kondepi in the Prakasam district. They will begin in Ongole II, Tangutur and Kanigiri in Prakasam district and Kandukur I, Kandukur II, Kaligiri and D.C.Palli in SPSR Nellore district on March 9.
