A two-month delay in announcing the annual tobacco procurement target has left farmers financially strapped, as national and multinational companies have reportedly cut procurement targets for next year. dawn. Industrial sources revealed that the total demand for purchases for the year 2025 decreased by 2.5 million kilograms, reaching 74.81 million kilograms, compared to 77.32 million kilograms in the current year.
This 3.24% decrease continues the downward trend observed in recent years, with demand in 2023 reaching 85.5 million kilograms. The sources explained that total demand decreased by 10.69 million kilograms, or 10.5%, over the past two years, raising concerns about the future of tobacco cultivation in the country.
Under Martial Law Order No. 487, companies must declare their tobacco quotas for next year by October 31, allowing farmers to choose between growing tobacco or growing wheat. But the delay in the announcement left farmers with no choice but to plant tobacco, as the wheat planting period had already passed.
Farmers and representatives of the Kashkar Coordination Council (KCC) have criticized the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB), the sector regulator, for failing to protect farmers from manipulative practices by big purchasing companies. Liaquat Yousafzai, central secretary general of KCC, accused PTB of allying itself with corporate buyers, allowing it to delay announcements and avoid accountability.
Yousafzai warned farmers who had not reached agreements to avoid growing tobacco, and predicted that surplus production would create an unsalable glut. “Farmers are being pushed into financial losses due to exploitative methods,” he lamented.
The 2025 demand breakdown indicates that flue-cured Virginia tobacco remains the largest category, representing 70.5 million kilograms of a total of 74.81 million kilograms. Leading companies such as Pakistan Tobacco Corporation, Philip Morris Limited and Khyber Tobacco Company are expected to collectively purchase 52.9 million kilograms. Meanwhile, 81 smaller companies will purchase 17.6 million kilograms.
Farmers have called for stricter enforcement of regulations to prevent future delays and protect their livelihoods, stressing the need for greater accountability from both PTB and purchasing companies.