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A.J. Vinayak

NEW CONCOCTION

Mangalore , Jan. 8

A "new wine in a new bottle" is what is in store for the arecanut sector in future. The dynamics of arecanut market will witness a change if the sector gives serious thought for the commercialisation of wine prepared out of the commodity.

Mr B. Shankar Bhat, a grower from Vittal in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, has come out with a formulation on arecanut wine. He claims that arecanut wine will be the next big wave in the arecanut industry, provided adequate steps are taken to commercialise it.

Mr Bhat told Business Line that he had spent 20 years on research on arecanut wine. "Now I have the confidence to say that wine can be prepared out of arecanut commercially." In fact, Mr Bhat, in association with some like-minded growers and entrepreneurs, is planning to float a company to attract investment to market arecanut wine. Though usually wine is prepared from grapes, other fruits are also used in its preparation. Arecanut wine comes under the fruit wine category, Mr Bhat said.

The commercial launching of arecanut wine needs at least two years time, as it needs the ageing process of at least one-and-a-half years. He said that 15 litres of wine could be prepared out of one kg of tender arecanut.

Mr Sridhar Bhide, President of the Mangalore Agriculturists' Sahakari Sangha (MASS) Ltd, told Business Line that value-addition to arecanut is a must for the growth of the market. The use of tender arecanuts in the preparation of wine will lead to consumption of a considerable amount of arecanut in the pre-processing stage itself. The shortage of the commodity will lead to the demand for white and red arecanuts in the market. This, in turn, will help farmers to get a good price for their commodity, he said.

Now arecanut is used in the preparation of `gutkha' and `paan'. These two items have limited market in India and in Pakistan. However, wine has a large international market. "We should provide a quality product whose taste is acceptable to the international market," he said.

Mr M. Srinivasa Achar, President of the All-India Areca Growers' Association, said the grower would be a major beneficiary of arecanut wine, as it will help create demand for arecanut. The cost of arecanut production will come down, if the grower decides to use the commodity in wine production. As tender arecanuts will be used in the preparation of wine, growers will not have to focus on arecanut processing to sell them in white or red arecanut markets, he added.

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