JD(S) leader SR Mahesh (third from left) at a press conference in Mysuru on Saturday. | Photo credit: MA Sriram
JD(S) leader and former minister SR Mahesh urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to announce a support price of ₹ 30 to ₹ 50 per kg of tobacco grown in the state.
Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Saturday, Mr. Mahesh pointed out that tobacco is mainly grown in five taluks in the state including Periyapatna, Hunsur, HD Kote and KR Nagar in Mysuru district, apart from Arakalgud in Hassan district.
Mr. Siddaramaiah, who himself hailed from Mysuru district, should announce a support price for tobacco, which is a major crop for farmers in these five taluks.
In view of the sudden fall in tobacco prices, Mr Mahesh said JD(S) leaders were also making sincere efforts to help farmers through the Centre, referring to their meeting with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Friday.
He said Mr Goyal had assured the JD(S) delegation including former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy that the situation would improve from Monday.
Mr. Goyal directed the commerce ministry to write to the ambassadors of 190 countries to urge companies in their respective countries to buy the tobacco they require directly from the market.
Earlier, Hunsur MLA GD Harish Gowda said the fall in tobacco prices from ₹320 per kg when the auction season began in October to ₹230 per kg recently has hit farmers hard.
After the Union Commerce Ministry directed various tobacco companies including ITC, which buys about 45 percent of Karnataka’s production, the situation improved slightly.
He said farmers are hopeful that the situation will improve further by Monday. Although the authorities had assured them of an average price of ₹300 to ₹320 for tobacco, Mr. Gowda said they were looking for an average price higher than last year.
Meanwhile, responding to complaints of shortage of LPG and petrol due to the US-Israel war against Iran, Mr. Mahesh said the Center has made it clear that there is no shortage of fuel in the country.
“If artificial scarcity is being created, it is the state government’s responsibility to take action against hoarders and black market fuel traders,” Mahesh said.
JD(S) Mysuru district president and former MLA T. Narsipura Ashwin Kumar was also present at the press conference.
Published – 14 March 2026 19:10 IST
