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India Exports 1,656 Tonnes Of Betel Leaves in Apr-Dec''10 |
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New Delhi, Sep 2 (PTI) India has exported 1,656 tonnes of betel leaves, popularly called "paan", worth Rs 5.24 crore during April-December period of last fiscal, the government said today.
The country had exported 1,397 tonnes for Rs 7.32 crore in the entire 2009-10 fiscal, Minister of State for Agriculture Harish Rawat said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
India exports betel leaves to nearly 20 countries, including Pakistan, Oman, the UK, the US, Canada, France, Kenya, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, the minister said.
Betel leaves are grown in about 50,000 hectares area in the country at present, Rawat said.
West Bengal is the leading producer of betel leaves, followed by Assam, Kerala and Karnataka. The cash crop is also grown in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Tripura.
The minister said there were no guidelines regarding cost of betel leaves. The betel leaves are auctioned by the farmers in mandis and its rate fluctuates depending upon the supply of leaves in the mandis, Rawat added.
Source : news.in.msn.com
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