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A.J. Vinayak

GEARING UP FOR THE CHALLENGE: Workers grading arecanut at the Mangalore Agriculturists' Souharda Sahakari processing unit before packing it for retail outlets.

Mangalore , Aug 3

AT a time when import of arecanut is affecting the domestic market, a Mangalore-based agriculturists' co-operative has begun retail marketing of arecanut with an aim to protect the market.

The Mangalore Agriculturists' Souharda Sahakari (MASS) Ltd, established in 2001, has been successfully marketing small packets of arecanut in major markets such as Gujarat and Maharashtra.

When the import of arecanut started affecting the fortunes of `Mangalore supari' — as the white variety of arecanut is commonly known in the north Indian market— the co-operative came out with the idea of marketing arecanut in small packets of 0.5 kg, one kg and two kg.

The MASS President, Mr Sridhar G. Bhide, told Business Line that some people were mixing inferior quality imported arecanut with "Mangalore supari".

"We launched small packets of arecanut in Gujarat market in September last year. We have been able to market more than 621 quintals of arecanut in small packets in the domestic market," he said.

Mr Bhide said the volume of packets of arecanut traded in the domestic market might be small but it was a big success for the co-operative, which began with a share capital of Rs 86 lakh.

Of the six grades of arecanut released in the market — `Mora', `Moti', `Sevardhan', `Jamnagar', `Jeeni' and `Lindi' — small packets of `Mora' and `Moti' have received good response from Gujarat, especially in the Ahmedabad market. These two grades have more than 25 per cent share in that market. He said `Jeeni' and `Lindi' grades of arecanuts were in demand in the Puri market. The co-operative — which has been marketing small arecanut packets in Mumbai, Nagpur, Rajkot and Hyderabad — has appointed agents in most of these markets.

Following the good response to the small packets of arecanut, MASS is now planning to market them in Pune. Small packets would be introduced in Pune market in September, Mr Bhide said.

Adherence to the quality is the main reason for the success of the venture. "We give utmost importance to the quality in every step of our activity, right from procuring to processing and packing," he said.

MASS markets `Mora' grade of arecanut at a maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs 115 a kg. `Moti' and `Sevardhan' are being marketed at an MRP of Rs 105 and Rs 95 a kg respectively.

With the small packet initiative, the co-operative is targeting the household arecanut consumers. Mr Bhide said the Ahmedabad market caters to the needs of a large section of these consumers.

Enthused by the arecanut venture, MASS is now planning to market pepper in small packets in the north Indian market.

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