Quality tobacco, which fetched as much as ₹320 per kg at the start of the October 2025 season, saw prices fall below ₹250 per kg by February. | Photo credit: File photo
Tobacco farmers across the region are gripped with anxiety over the slow liquidation of their produce, triggered by a sharp drop in prices and weak demand at auction platforms across the state.
Although the auction season starts from September to October and ends every year in March, over 24 million kg of tobacco remains unsold even after the beginning of April. This is despite a relatively lower production of 85 million kg against the estimated crop size of 100 million kg for the 2025-2026 season.
Low offtake on auction platforms further added to the woes of farmers who were already reeling under the impact of a sharp fall in prices. Quality tobacco, which fetched as much as ₹320 per kg at the start of the October 2025 season, saw prices fall below ₹250 per kg by February. The decline followed reduced buying by traders following the imposition of excise duty and the increase in goods and services tax (GST) on tobacco products.
While light tobacco prices showed marginal stabilization, rates for medium and low quality varieties fell further below ₹200 per kg, sparking widespread resentment among farmers.
“In addition to domestic tax pressures, global supply has increased due to good harvests in key tobacco-producing countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa,” said Vikram Raj Urs, general secretary of the VFC Tobacco Growers Federation of Karnataka.
In protest against the fall in prices, agitated farmers are forcing the closure of the auction platform here and there in several parts of the Mysuru region.
In response, the Tobacco Board convened a special meeting in Mysuru in the first week of March this year. The meeting was attended by Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy, Tobacco Board Chairman Yashwanth Kumar Chidipothu, Mysuru MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar and Animal Husbandry and Sericulture Minister K. Venkatesh, who represents the tobacco center in the Perisyalpatna Legislative Assembly. However, farmers are yet to realize the prices witnessed at the start of the auction season.
Traders attending the meeting also cited logistical challenges in exporting tobacco due to disruptions in tobacco shipments and disruptions resulting from the ongoing conflict in West Asia involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
While the Tobacco Board has assured farmers that the auction season will be extended until all stocks are liquidated, Mr Urs indicated that the extension may have to continue indefinitely given weak global demand.
He noted that tobacco growers in the region have not experienced such a steep decline in decades.
Although the Tobacco Board has reduced the target crop for 2026-2027 to 90 million kg from 100 million kg last year, Mr Urs argued that production should ideally be limited to around 40 million kg to restore balance between supply and demand and stabilize prices.
Despite the bleak outlook, many farmers have already started sowing for the next season. “There is an urgent need to sensitize farmers to reduce cultivation significantly. While declaring a crop holiday may not be feasible at this stage, the area under tobacco cultivation should be reduced and farmers encouraged to diversify into alternative crops,” Mr Urs said.
Published – 05 Apr 2026 19:19 IST
