Piyush Goyal assures to address tobacco farmers' grievances: H D Kumaraswamy

New Delhi: Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy said on Friday that Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has directed senior officials in his ministry to hold discussions with tobacco-buying companies and take necessary measures to support the growers.

Kumaraswamy led a delegation of state leaders from the Mysuru region to met the minister here and discuss the problems faced by Karnataka's tobacco growers.

The JD(S) leader said Goyal promised that steps would be taken to resume tobacco procurement from Monday (March 16), with officials from his ministry engaging with representatives of leading tobacco companies.

"Goyal responded positively to several key demands of the growers, including the immediate procurement of tobacco, expansion of exports to international markets, and the exploration of new overseas markets," Kumaraswamy posted on X.

The Commerce Minister also directed senior officials from his ministry and key stakeholders from the tobacco purchasing industry to engage on the matter and take necessary steps to provide timely relief to farmers, with the objective of addressing the prevailing crisis, Kumaraswamy added.

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and other leaders were also part of the delegation.

Separately, former Minister S R Mahesh, who was also in the delegation, told reporters that the Union Commerce Minister had assured that letters would be sent to ambassadors of 190 countries, inviting their companies to purchase tobacco directly.

He also assured that steps would be taken to expand exports to countries where Indian tobacco has not been exported earlier.Mahesh added that an appeal would also be made to the state government to provide a support price for tobacco.

Tobacco procurement had been suspended at several auction platforms in Karnataka after prices dropped sharply from Rs 320 per kg to about Rs 250 per kg in recent days.

Alleging that tobacco purchasing companies had scaled down procurement, triggering the price crash, farmers had demanded not only a price increase but also that the government invite foreign buyers to the auction platforms to boost competition.