Activists of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) on Friday staged a protest here demanding both Union and the State governments initiate measures to stabilise the price of arecanut.
Addressing the protest meet, H.R. Basavarajappa, working president of KRRS, said the price of arecanut, which was Rs. 800 a kg. in May 2014, had come down to Rs. 340 a kg. now. He blamed the increase in the quantity of import of arecanut for the decline in the price.
The total import of arecanut, which was 18,228 quintals in 2013-14, increased to 1,00,846 quintals in 2014-15, he said and urged the Union government to initiate measures to curb the import of arecanut.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in the first week of June, had increased the minimum import price of arecanut from Rs. 110 a kg. to Rs. 162 a kg. The minimum import price of arecanut should be increased to Rs. 300 a kg. to bring in some stability in the price of local variety of the produce, he said.
Illegal import of arecanut was also one of the reasons for the fluctuation in its price. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry should establish a separate vigilance wing at the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to stop the illegal import of arecanut, he said.
Mr. Basavarajappa urged the Union government to purchase arecanut at a minimum support price (MSP) to stabilise its price in the market. According to a research supported by cooperative societies engaged in marketing of arecanut, the average cost of production of arecanut is about Rs. 400 a kg. Therefore, the government should announce a minimum support price of Rs. 400 a kg. and its procurement at that rate, he said.
There has been a sharp decline in the yield of arecanut in recent years owing to fruit rot and yellow leaf diseases.
The government should extend adequate financial assistance to agricultural universities to take up research on ways to control the fungal and pest infection that was affecting the arecanut crop, he said.
Functionaries of KRRS Hittur Raju, S. Shivamurthy and Y.G. Mallikarjun took part in the protest.
‘Arecanut price has fallen from Rs. 800 a kg in May 2014 to Rs. 340 a kg. this year’
Downward trend in price attributed to huge increase in the quantity of import of arecanut
