ONGOLE: The Tobacco Board’s Ongole Southern Black Soils (SBS) and Southern Light Soils (SLS) region has made all necessary arrangements for the 2024-25 Andhra Pradesh Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco auctions, set to begin on Monday at four platforms—Ongole-1, Kandukur-1, Podili, and Kondapi. The second phase of auctions will commence on March 19 at Vellampalli, Ongole-2, Kandukur-2, Tangutur, and Kanigiri. Additionally, Kaligiri and DC Palli auction platforms in SPSR Nellore district will start auctions on the same day.
Tobacco Board Executive Director Addanki Sridhar Babu will inaugurate the auctions at Ongole-1, while Board Chairman Ch Yashwanth Kumar will launch the process at Kondapi. Sridhar Babu will perform a special pooja at 8.30 am before inaugurating the auctions at 9.20 am. The chairman will commence auctions at Kondapi at 9.30 am. Around 20 registered buyers and exporters, along with their representatives, will participate in the inaugural ceremony and the first-day auctions.
The board permitted tobacco cultivation on 68,699.95 hectares for 30,109 farmers, approving 24,575 barns with a production target of 103 million kg. However, driven by last season’s profits, farmers expanded cultivation to 87,988 hectares, expecting a yield of around 161 million kg.
Over the last three seasons, tobacco growers have secured good prices for their produce. In 2023-24, auctions held from 29 February to October 14 recorded sales of 215.35 million kg, including 9.46 million kg of scrap and bits. A total of 43,021 growers participated, receiving an average price of Rs 288.65 per kg—the highest ever—earning a collective Rs 6,313.58 crore.
With Karnataka farmers recently fetching favourable prices in their auctions, tobacco growers in the region are hopeful for competitive prices this season as well.