{
  "id": 16162179,
  "title": "Tobacco Farmers Forced to Sell Crop at Lower Prices",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/23/tobacco-farmers-forced-to-sell-crop-at-lower-prices",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-23T05:48:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ProPakistani",
    "slug": "propakistani",
    "url": "https://propakistani.pk/2026/10/23/tobacco-farmers-forced-to-sell-crop-at-lower-prices/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Farmers in Swabi tobacco-growing region have complained to the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) about the board's failure to purchase surplus tobacco crops, despite the end of the regular buying season over a month ago. The multinational and national tobacco companies ceased their purchasing activities on September 15 after completing their annual quotas declared by the PTB. Both the board and the Federal Ministry of National Food Security and Research are blamed for creating a strategy to ensure companies bought surplus tobacco in line with the rules.\n\nThe Kashtkar Ittehad Association's members stated that surplus tobacco is being bought at Rs. 545 per kilogram, a significant decrease from over Rs. 700 per kilogram during the regular buying season. This drop in prices enables companies and traders to earn millions of rupees at the expense of the farmers. Iqbal Khan Shewa, the association’s president, told Dawn that the weak financial position of tobacco growers has made them easy targets for exploitation by companies and traders.\n\nTobacco growers are further handicapped by the lack of adequate storage facilities and financial resources, forcing them to accept heavily discounted prices when selling their crops. Imran Khan, a tobacco farmer from the Maneri Bala region, revealed that company officials and tobacco traders are well aware of the farmers' resource and facility limitations, leaving them vulnerable to low offers. The PTB has promised to start purchasing the surplus crop, but growers criticize the board for failing to develop a purchasing strategy and allege that its officials consistently prioritize tobacco companies over growers. The PTB Secretary, Fakhruddin, assured that the board will soon resume purchasing surplus tobacco from growers.",
  "summary": "Tobacco growers in Swabi have criticized the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) for failing to arrange purchases of surplus tobacco, more … Read More The post Tobacco Farmers Forced to Sell Crop at Lower Prices appeared first on ProPakistani .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}