The Union government has responded positively to the request of cooperative organisations engaged in the marketing of arecanut to impose a complete ban on import of the produce, said Y.N. Subrahmanya, vice-president of Malnad Arecanut Marketing Cooperative Society (MAMCOS).
More than 1.01 lakh tonne of arecanut was imported in 2016 so far. The import of low quality arecanut has paved way for slump in the price, he said at a convention of arecanut growers held under the aegis of MAMCOS in Sagar city.
As low duty is charged for imports from nations that are signatories for South Asia Free Trade Area trade pact and imports from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries enjoy duty exemption, a large quantity of arecanut is being imported under these international trade agreements.
A delegation of MPs from Karnataka and representatives of cooperative organisations including the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd (CAMPCO) and MAMCOS met Union Minister for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman twice in the past three months and requested her to enforce a complete ban on import of arecanut to protect the interests of local farmers. Ms. Sitharaman has assured the delegation of necessary action, he said.
The MAMCOS would soon commence the service of sending SMS alerts on the price of various varieties of arecanut daily to farmers. It has been planned to construct a new warehouse in Sagar city at the cost of Rs 3.10 crore.
