Indian tobacco is of high quality, organically cultivated, and pesticide residue free and India is the only country in the world where tobacco is produced in two seasons, Indian Tobacco Board chairperson K Sunitha has said.
She said India is the third largest producer and exporter of unmanufactured tobacco with exports more than Rs 5,000 crore to more than 115 destinations, including the quality conscious markets like Japan and Europe, an official statement said on Saturday.
Sunitha said this on Friday while meeting China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration Chief Commissioner Zhang Jianmin. She had led a delegation of six major tobacco exporters – ITC Ltd, Polisetty Somasundaram, Deccan Tobacco Company, Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, Premier Tobacco Packers Ltd and M L Exports – to China from June 24 to 28.
During the meet, she said India due to its proximity could also bring down the logistic costs in exporting tobacco to China.
She also reiterated that India is well positioned to supply superior quality tobacco with consistency in price, volume, quality and compliance. However, exports of tobacco from India to China have been negligible. Recently, in January 2019, during the visit of Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan, the otherwise dormant protocol on the export of Indian tobacco leaves to China was extended for next five years removing a major technical barrier in exporting to China.
