By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
- Regulatory warning: The Pakistan Tobacco Board has ordered tobacco companies and dealers to begin purchasing or face enforcement action.
- Grower concerns: Officials say delayed buying violates national marketing rules and risks financial hardship for growers awaiting payment.
- Market oversight: The warning follows complaints that purchasing delays last season contributed to lower prices.
Pakistan’s tobacco regulator has warned cigarette manufacturers and dealers that they could face enforcement action if they continue to delay purchasing the country’s 2026 flue-cured Virginia tobacco crop.
In a letter to tobacco companies and dealers, the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) directed buyers to immediately open purchasing centers and begin buying tobacco from growers, warning that failure to comply could result in action under Section 24 of the Pakistan Tobacco Board Ordinance, 1968.
“Companies and dealers are directed to open their purchase centres and start purchasing tobacco immediately and submit a compliance report within three days. In case of non-compliance, strict action will be initiated against them under Section 24 of the PTB Ordinance, 1968,” the board said.
The PTB noted that, under the Marketing Control Rules, 2016, it had previously instructed companies to begin purchasing flue-cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco grown in Pakistan’s plains between July 8 and July 11. However, according to reports from PTB field officials, many companies and licensed dealers had yet to begin procurement.
The board said the delays constitute a violation of Rule 10 of the Marketing Control Rules, which requires licensed companies and dealers to purchase tobacco on dates set by the regulator.
The warning comes amid concerns that growers could again incur financial losses if purchases are postponed. Last season, delayed procurement led to parts of the crop being declared surplus, allowing some buyers to purchase tobacco at significantly lower prices, according to grower representatives.
Industry representatives have disputed those claims, saying companies purchased surplus tobacco at the government’s Minimum Indicative Price of Rs545 (US$1.96) per kilogram, while the crop’s weighted average purchase price during the 2025 marketing season was Rs719 per kilogram.
