YS Jagan Mohan Reddy decries falling tobacco prices in Andhra Pradesh

YS Jagan Mohan Reddy tobacco farmers Andhra Pradesh falling prices Markfed

Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister and YSR Congress Party leader Y. S. Jagan Moh an Reddy visited the Devarapalli tobacco auction centre in East/West Godavari on August 4‑5. He met distressed tobacco farmers and reported that average farm‑gate prices have dropped from about ₹289 per kg during the previous YSRCP term to roughly ₹214‑₹220 per kg now – a decline of around ₹75 per kg – while cultivation costs have risen.

Reddy accused the coalition government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of colluding with a traders’ cartel and of offering ineffective subsidies, such as a ₹20 per kg relief that he said does not help farmers. He also criticised the recent cut to interest‑free agricultural loans from ₹1 lakh to ₹50,000. Farmers have staged protests, and the Tobacco Board has stopped publishing auction data for ten days, adding to uncertainty. Reddy called for the state procurement agency Markfed to be activated to create competition and secure fair prices for growers.