Tobacco growers worried as COVID second wave induces price correction

‘Major buyers are shying away from auction platforms due to health concerns’

Even as auctioning of tobacco began on a promising note in the middle of March, the farmers have now their fingers crossed as the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has induced a correction in the prices of various grades of tobacco at a time when they are expecting to recoup their losses incurred last year due to dull markets due to prolonged lockdown. The buyers were offering more than ₹180 per kg for the bright grade varieties when the auction platforms opened. Now, the same varieties are fetching ₹170 per kg at best, a group of farmers at Vellampalli auction platform said. Major buyers of the produce, which find its way to global markets, are shying away from the auction of late over the health concerns with the spurt in the infection count. “We are trying our best to step up the number of bales traded each day by at least 100. At present, 400 to 500 bales are being traded in the wake of sluggish market conditions,” Southern Light Soil(SLS) Regional Manager D. Venugopal told The Hindu.