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The Union government on Monday ruled out a ban on tobacco imports for now.
Reiterating the government’s stance in reply to members’ concern in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour over illegal import of tobacco and urging the government to disincentivise legal imports, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: “Any ban on imports has to be imposed on domestic production also. So, we have to be conscious if we can stop the total import of any commodity. But, do we stop the production of tobacco in this country? We also have to give effective alternatives to the farmers.”
Sitharaman said tobacco imports had remained in the range of $40.9 million, but what was of great concern was the rise in smuggling.
The Minister said smuggled cigarettes which have been detected are valued at ₹162 crore in 2015-16. In reply to a question by BN Goud of the Telangana Rashtriya Samithi on what alternative crops were being suggested to tobacco farmers, Sitharaman said for the Northern black soil area, maize, paddy, cotton, soyabean and redgram were suggested as alternatives for the kharif season, and Bengal gram, paddy, mustard and fodder crops for the rabi season.
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