Tobacco prices surge in India

Posted 02 May 2024

2 min read

Reasons for the Rise in Price
- Decrease in crop production in major tobacco-producing countries like Brazil, Zimbabwe and Indonesia due to extreme weather conditions.
- China imposed restrictions on tobacco exports to safeguard its local cigarette industry.

Tobacco In India
- India is 2nd largest producer and exporter.
- Temperature: Between 20° to 27°C is required.
- Rainfall: When grown as a rainfed crop then requires at least about 500 mm of well-distributed rainfall during the crop growing season. (Usually not grown in the area if rainfall exceeds 1200 mm).
- Soil: sandy or sandy loam soil. Cigarette-tobacco growing areas of Andhra Pradesh are an exception in that the crop is grown on heavy black soil.
- Some of the varieties cultivated in India are
  - flue-cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco in Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka;
  - Bidi Tobacco in Gujarat & Karnataka & Andhra Pradesh.
  - Cigar & Cheroot in Tamil Nadu & West Bengal
  - Pikka Tobacco in Orissa

Significance: Livelihood security to 36 million people, earn foreign exchange(4% of the country’s total agri-exports), Government revenue (10% of the total excise revenue collection from all sources.)etc.

Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 : Prohibits smoking in public places; ban on sale of tobacco products to minors, etc.
- Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labelling) Amendment Rules, 2022-Provided images for display on package with health warnings.
Other steps: India became a Party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control(2005), National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), etc.

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