May 10 2007
News- `Indian tobacco needs a quality check`
"I have been coming to India for the last 15 years but I am yet to see fully-flavoured or even semi-flavoured tobacco. I have come across and purchased only filler tobacco," starts off Jean Lafanechaire, area manager of Altadis.
Altadis, the fifth largest tobacco company in the world and the world leader in cigar manufacturing, has been buying tobacco from India for over 25 years.
Jean disagrees with the assessment of J Suresh Babu, Tobacco Board chairman; farmers’ leader Y Sivaji, and scientists of the Central Tobacco Research Institute that Indian tobacco is in no way inferior to that of Brazil, Zimbabwe or any other country.
“You cannot compare Indian tobacco with Brazilian or Zimbabwean tobacco. The latter are far superior to Indian tobacco in quality and flavour,” he points out.
“Cigarette companies these days consider it a good year if they make just 3 per cent profit. They pay 80 per cent of the retail prices as taxes and another eight per cent goes to retailers. Then come all other expenses. Tobacco is purchased based on competitive prices in the international market. The fully-flavoured tobacco (best) comes from Brazil, Zimbabwe and the US, and it is mixed with filler tobacco from countries like India to increase the profit.”
“While Karnataka tobacco is a clean filler (better), AP tobacco is less matured with less filling power. Hence, buyers rush for Karnataka tobacco,” he explains.
Jean also has the solutions. “Indian farmers should be helped in improving crop quality and per hectare yields, which has remained stagnant. In Karnataka, the maximum yield is 1,200 kg per hectare while in Brazil it is 12 tonne. Contract farming and cultivation of aromatic tobacco can bring in better prices. The monsoon crop experiment of the Indian Tobacco Board and ILTD in Prakasam holds great hopes for Indian farmers.”
“The auction system is pitted against the Indian farmers. Bright, medium and low-grade tobaccos get almost the same price, which is not the case anywhere in the world. Moreover, there is no duty for tobacco exports from Africa to Europe. But the Indian government levies duties on exports to Europe. All these need to be changed,” he says.
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