| Date: |
25-12-2014 |
| Subject: |
Big imports from Nepal, Sri Lanka pull down areca nut prices |
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KOCHI: Mounting imports have pulled down areca nut prices, prompting growers to appeal to the government to increase import tariff further.
About a year ago, India had raised the tariff to Rs 110 per kg from Rs 75 to help local growers by increasing the cost of imports.
"Imports are coming through Nepal and Sri Lanka while the production in the country has been good. We have sent a proposal to the government to increase the tariff to Rs 170 per kg," said Suresh Bhandary, managing director of Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing & Processing Co-operative Ltd. ( Campco), a cooperative of growers. According to him, the cost of cultivation for a farmer has reached Rs 170 per kg. The price of white variety areca nut has dropped 25% to Rs 225 per kg while that for the red variety, which shot up toRs 800 a kg, has come down to Rs 265-280.
The red variety is used in gutka which is banned in most states. Fresh arrivals of the white variety are being sold at Rs 150 to 160 per kg, which is not remunerative for the farmers.
"The prices of areca nuts go up as they get older. Unless a grower gets Rs 200 per kg, it is not profitable," said Srinivasa Achar, president of the All India Areca Growers Association.
Production in the country in 2013-14 totalled 6,22,260 tonne, a marginal fall from previous year, while imports at 80,419 tonne showed a 17% fall year-on-year, show data from the Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development. This year, imports are expected to be more even though production is expected to be stable.
Karnataka is the largest producer of areca nut, followed by Kerala and Assam. Production has been stagnant around 6.2-6.3 lakh tonnes for some years now. This has been attributed to severe labour shortage to pluck areca nuts.
The fluctuating prices have discouraged farmers from cultivating the crop more. Areca nut acreage in Kerala has shrunk by more than 2% in the past two years. But Achar said the drop in acreage in some states was made up by addition in other states, keeping the production stable.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com
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