Local tobacco fetches higher prices this season–nta
TOBACCO farmers are selling at high prices in buying stations their fluecured Virginia tobacco leaves, and the air-cured burley and native tobacco leaves this season, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Based on the latest National Tobacco Administration (NTA) monitoring of tobacco trading operations, the buying price per kilogram of the prime class of tobacco or Class AA of the flue-cured Virginia tobacco has reached as high as P113.00, which is higher than the approved floor price of P97.00.
NTA, an attached agency of the DA, said the buying price for the prime class
andnd of both air-cured Burley-type tobacco Native-type tobacco is expected to reach up to P100.00 per kg, which is higher than the approved floor price of P81.00.
Considering the increasing trend in the actual buying price of tobacco, NTA Administrator Belinda S. Sanchez said the tobacco farmers will earn “a lucrative income this season.
“The tobacco buying price increase reflects market demand and crop quality as well as the presence of good weather and the increase of floor prices,” Sanchez said in a statement.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country’s tobacco production last year reached 50,911.75 metric tons (MT). The figure is 6.6 percent higher than the 47,730.39 MT.
Data from the PSA also showed that the Philippines’s native tobacco output last year went up by 15.3 percent to 9,484.81 MT, from the previous year’s 8,221.69 MT.
Virginia tobacco production was also higher in 2023 at 25,096.57 MT from the 23,442.94 MT recorded in 2022.
The NTA estimated that around 2.2 million Filipinos depend on the tobacco industry, including more than 430,000 farmers, farm workers and their families. NTA noted that total volume of locally produced tobacco only constitutes 35 percent of the leaf requirement of tobacco manufacturers.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said Tuesday that he is aware of the growing illicit trade of tobacco that is threatening the entire tobacco industry value chain. He vowed to help in the fight against smugglers whose illegal activities adversely affect the livelihood of farmers, legitimate businesses and investments, and government revenues.