New Delhi, July 26 (SocialNews.XYZ) A team from the Centre's Department of Commerce visited Andhra Pradesh to review the prevailing market situation of Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco and held discussions to safeguard the interests of tobacco growers in the state, according to an official statement issued on Sunday.
The Centre's delegation, led by Additional Secretary Nitin Kumar Yadav, participated in a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday, in the presence of the Chairman and Executive Director of the Tobacco Board.
The discussions focused on safeguarding the interests of FCV tobacco growers and exploring long-term measures to ensure stability in the FCV tobacco sector.
The delegation also visited the Tobacco Board Auction Platform at Vellampalli, where it observed the ongoing auction operations and reviewed the auction process.
The officers interacted extensively with FCV tobacco growers to obtain first-hand feedback on the prevailing market conditions.
The delegation appreciated the transparent and orderly conduct of the auctions by the Tobacco Board.
Additional Secretary Nitin Kumar Yadav assured the growers that the Indian government is closely monitoring the evolving market situation.
He said that, in coordination with the Andhra Pradesh government, the Tobacco Board and other stakeholders, the Union government is actively examining appropriate measures to safeguard the interests of FCV tobacco farmers.
India is the fourth largest producer of FCV tobacco in the world after China, Brazil and Zimbabwe.
India is the second largest exporter of unmanufactured tobacco, in quantity terms, after Brazil.
FCV tobacco is dried with external heat from flues rather than open fire or direct sun, which turns the leaves a bright yellow-lemon to orange colour.
The Tobacco Board has undertaken several strategic activities to ensure the sustainability and growth of the tobacco industry. These include crop planning and regulation of production to meet both domestic and export demands.
The efficient and transparent electronic auction system being implemented by the Tobacco Board for the sale of tobacco produced by the farmers helped in achieving the Union government's vision of doubling farmers' income in the FCV tobacco sector.
The Board supports farmers by providing handholding assistance to produce tobacco of requisite quality to meet the standards of importing countries.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz