PUTRAJAYA: The Government has pledged to continue helping small-time tobacco farmers seek an alternative source of income.
This follows the decision by cigarette manufacturers to stop purchasing local tobacco leaves since April 1, said Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon.
She said the tobacco industry in Malaysia was shifting due to changes in international trade and an increase in awareness on public health.
“The need to restructure the tobacco industry is in line with the country’s commitment to liberalize the market under the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) and the control of tobacco use under the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
“I’ve been made to understand that the LKTN (National Kenaf and Tobacco Board) is in the process of implementing several programmes to help rural tobacco farmers who are less competitive to switch to other economies, such as kenaf planting,” Noriah said at the launch of the 2013 Tobacco Seminar here yesterday.
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