A debut shipment carrying 120 tonnes of tobacco has reached the US. This is the first time that a Government agency – the Andhra Pradesh Markfed has exported tobacco to the US, opening up new business potential for exporters and farmers in the state. The export was made through the Chennai Port. After the US, the agency is now looking at exporting the commodity to the European Union.
The agency procured about 1.3 million kg (mkg) of tobacco in 2020, following directions by the State Government.
Andhra Pradesh is a major tobacco producing State in the country. The Tobacco Board, a Central Government agency that regulates tobacco production in the country, fixed the crop size at 130 mkg for Andhra Pradesh last year.
Though it is quite common for the Markfed to step in to procure a few commodities, it was a first for the agency to procure tobacco. Private traders and tobacco companies buy the produce from the farmers and export it to a few international markets.
The public sector agencies always tried to stay away from exporting the produce for fear of making losses in the absence of proper processes and channels to facilitate exports. After successfully completing the export orders, the Markfed has set up a separate agency to tap the opportunity abroad. “It is a kind of record for a government agency to procure a commodity and export the same in the first year itself,” he said.
