SWABI: The Kashtkaar Ittehad Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KIKP) here on Wednesday demanded an increase in Virginia tobacco with minimum rate of Rs 350 per kilogram keeping in view current price-hike in the country. The demand was made during a meeting of General Council of KIKP held here at Yar Hussain with its President Arif Ali Khan in the chair. The meeting also demanded ban on those companies who refused purchase of allotted quota of tobacco and all those yet to pay outstanding payments of tobacco growers. It was said that tobacco growers were facing huge financial losses while thousands of kilograms of tobacco was dumped at godowns due to refusal of purchase by the concerned companies. The meeting was informed about the correspondence with National Agriculture Research Center Islamabad and other agriculture related organizations for converting tobacco crops into other beneficial fields. Beside others, the meeting was attended by Senior Vice President KIKP Said Daud Jan Ismaila, Iqbal Khan Shewa, Haji Ahmed Jan Murghuz, Fazal Rabi Nowshera, Kuram Sattar Yaqoobi and Liaqat Yousafzai.