KT&G said Thursday it will raise the purchase price of leaf tobacco from farmers to help growers facing increased cost burdens from recent rises in fuel and labor expenses.
KT&G, which has purchased 100 percent of domestically grown leaf tobacco every year since 2022, plans to inject an additional 2.2 billion won this year compared with last year for domestic leaf tobacco procurement. As a result, KT&G's total domestic leaf tobacco purchase amount this year is expected to reach approximately 81.5 billion won.
The previous day, the company delivered a total of 400 million won in welfare support funds for domestic leaf tobacco farmers to the National Federation of Leaf Tobacco Producers Cooperatives through the Tobacco Production Stabilization Foundation. The funds will be used to cover health checkup expenses for approximately 750 leaf tobacco farmers and scholarships for growers' children. KT&G has been supporting leaf tobacco farmers with health checkup costs and scholarships for 14 consecutive years since 2013, with cumulative beneficiaries reaching about 16,500 growers.
"We decided to raise the purchase price of domestic leaf tobacco to actively support farmers struggling with increased fuel cost burdens caused by the recent Middle East situation and high labor expenses," said Jeong Seong-heon, head of KT&G's Procurement Operations Division. "We will continue to pursue mutual growth activities with leaf tobacco farmers, our key partners, going forward."
