The Markfed, in 2020, had done a first-of-its-kind intervention in the market to bail out the farmers who were struggling to find buyers for low grade varieties during auctions.
Now, the marketing agency is gearing up for a bigger role for itself by adding value to the tobacco leaf and by exporting it to different countries.
It created history by exporting to the U.S. on a pilot basis 120 tonne of tobacco through the Chennai port after processing this week. Six containers of tobacco weighing 20,000 kg each were sent to Virginia, known for a vibrant tobacco industry, on Monday, said a Markfed official.
