Tobacco farmers urge govt to reduce excise duty on cigarettes.

ISLAMABAD -- Tobacco farmers belonging to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have warned the government of severe protest if exorbitant increase in federal excise duty on cigarettes was not reduced as it was hitting the economic prospects of tobacco farmers.

'These high duty rates will not benefit anybody neither the tax collecting body nor anti-tobacco groups because smuggled foreign cigarettes have already started to flood Pakistani markets,' said Mushfiq Ali Khan, president of Anjuman-i-Kahstkaran (KP).

In a news conference on Tuesday, the farmers said that they saw foreign cigarettes openly available in shops, and the only difference was that low quality cheap brands were sold in villages and smaller areas while higher brands were on display in Islamabad.

Say this will not benefit anyone as smuggled foreign cigarettes already in markets

Mushfiq Ali Khan said tobacco was cultivated in many areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa only because it was the most viable cash crop in those areas. Farmers from Mardan and Swabi districts pointed out the negative social and economic impact on tobacco farmers due to the increase in federal excise duty on cigarettes, which includes resurgence of the illegal cigarette industry.

Another farmer Ali Ahmed and Mohammad Siraj highlighted that tobacco sales will eventually shift from the legal industry to illegal cigarette makers, and it will...

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