PLATFORM / R. Krishnan

THE ANTI-SMOKING drive all over the world has begun to show results. While the area under tobacco cultivation in Europe has fallen marginally, both the area and production has shrunk in the US. The number of smokers also fell in these two regions.

In contrast, the smoking community in Asia, West Assia, Russia and Eastern Europe grew by 5 per cent, pushing up the demand for cigarette tobacco. Globally, the number of smokers rose by 1.6 per cent in 2000.

Given this background, how is India placed as a source for cigarette tobacco supplies? The future looks good if the findings of the Central Tobacco Research Institute (CTRI) headquartered at Rajahmundhry in Andhra Pradesh are any indicator: CTRI, under the ministry of agriculture, is the only research institute of its kind in the world devoted to a single crop.

The Flue Cured Variety of tobacco was introduced in India in 1928 by the Indian Leaf Tobacco Development Company. It later became the Indian Leaf Tobacco Division of ITC. Agronomists in ILTD also located in Rajahmundhry feel that India is placed in a tricky situation. Many MNCs want to make India a base for cigarette production costs are low here. India is also the largest supplier of filler tobacco in the world as flavoured tobacco accounts for only 15 to 20 per cent of the in cigarettes.

Despite the potential, tobacco exports from India fell from Rs 1,100 crore in 1999 to Rs 900 crore in 2001. While a crop holiday and previous year’s surplus stocks were the main causes, the Tobacco Board also ordered a cutback in production of cigarette tobacco which is grown only in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Data shows that annual cigarette sales in India at Rs 12,000 crore have started falling as rising prices have forced smokers to shift to bidi. The Supreme Court ban on smoking in public places and increased availability of contraband cigarettes have made things difficult for the domestic cigarette industry. This will have an impact in the long run on the cigarette tobacco farmers.

In contrast, there will be no impact on bidi tobacco growers as it does not have the export potential of filler tobacco. Only 14 per cent of tobacco produced domestically goes into cigarettes thus opening up a huge opportunity for Indian farmers.

The need is for a higher and better quality yield from lesser acreage. The competition is from countries like Thailand, Kenya, Uganda, Vietnam and Combodia. While tobacco can grow even in a wasteland as it does not need much water, it acquires superior quality given the right climate. Against the international average yield of 2,300 kg per hectare, in India it is 1,300 kg. But new varieties developed by both ILTD and CTRI have shown yields rising to 1,850 kg per hectare.

 One hears of debt-ridden cotton farmers committing suicide, but not tobacco farmers. In the northern light soil areas, tobacco farmers earn Rs 15,000 per hectare from new strains against Rs 10,746 earlier. Competing crops like maize and cashew, however, yield Rs 9,000 per hectare. In the light soil areas in Karnataka, farmers have started earning Rs 18,212 per hectare from superior tobacco varieties against Rs 7,000 from cotton and Rs 3,625 from maize. Tobacco continues to be a major source of employment in these areas.

CTRI research shows that long years of refining have made the Indian Flue Cured Variety (FCV) and Burley tobacco safer than most strains grown elsewhere. Its findings published in the International Journal of Plan and soil shows that Indian FCV and Burley tobacco contain the lowest amount of harmful and carcinogenic substance known as Tobacco Specific Nitrosamines (TSNS) compared to that grown in the US, China, Brazil and Sri Lanka.

This was established after using an American machine to conduct a thermal energy analysis. Strangely, TSNS is not found at the leaf or harvest stage; it is introduced during the curing process. Latest research shows that the tobacco grown in Karnataka does not have any trace of TSNS.

Earlier nicotine, carbon monoxide and tar were considered most harmful. It is TSNS now. Against the nicotine content of over 3 per cent in other countries, FCV tobacco exported from India contains just 2 per cent nicotine. But tar still remains a concern, even though its content per stick has been reduced from 13 mg to 9mg. The entire effort is to make Indian tobacco safer so that Indian can garner a bigger share of the global tobacco market.

CTRI research shows that cadmium and lead content in Indian tobacco is also the lowest. According to FAO projections, global tobacco consumption may rise yearly by 1.9 per cent creating an annual deficit of 185,000 tonnes or 2 per cent of global demand. Indian can corner a big share considering it accounts for just 0.2 per cent of world cigarette export against 24 per cent of the US, 30 per cent of the EU and 7 per cent of China.

The low TSNS content in desi tobacco is also due to the indirect curing process used here. For once, technology is flowing in the reverse direction as evident in the US where they are returning to indirect curing. Cigarette majors there are funding barns for indirect curing to make safer cigarettes.

The issue currently being addressed by CTRI and ILTD is plant breeding for introducing tobacco varieties that are in sync with customer preferences and regulatory norms- besides being resistant to pests, diseases and unfavourable weather conditions. What the government needs to do now is to market Indian cigarette tobacco highlighting its safety characteristics as established by CTRI.