Pangasinan and Ilocos farmers have expressed relief that their tobacco leaves will have a sure market this year because of local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp.
The National Federation of Tobacco Growers and Cooperatives (NFTGC) President Mario Cabasal was elated after learning that Mighty Corporation has made commitments to initially buy at least 10 million kilograms of tobacco leaves at an average price of P70 per kilo and buy all the excess tobacco leaves that farmers could not sell to other buyers.
“We limited to minimum areas fields planted to tobacco last year in anticipation of depressed demand due to the scheduled implementation of the sin tax,” Cabasal said. “good thing, some farmers were able to sell part of their low-grade harvests to Mighty Corporation in 2013,” he pointed out.
“Now that we are assured of an alternative market, besides other tobacco companies, our members will again be inspired to devote larger areas to the cultivation of Ilocandia’s most important cash crop,” he added.
Fearing that tobacco prices and demand for the yellow leaf would dive as a result of the new excise tax law on cigarettes, many farmers in the Ilocos Region shifted to planting yellow corn. Profits from corn are, however, lower than tobacco.
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