A delegation of arecanut cooperatives and elected representatives from Karnataka has urged the Union Minister for Commerce and Industries, Nirmala Sitharaman, to ban the import of arecanut and to promote the production of value-added arecanut-based products.

The Members of Parliament from Karnataka, BS Yeddiyurappa and Nalin Kumar Kateel, and the President of Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd SR Satishchandra, were part of the delegation that met the minister in Delhi on Tuesday.

SR Satishchandra told BusinessLine that the memorandum highlighted issues such as arecanut production in the country and the impact of import on its economy.

The production of arecanut increased from 3.30 lakh tonnes to 6.09 lakh tonnes during the period between 2001 and 2013. The current production might have crossed eight lakh tonnes, he said.

Since the production fulfils the domestic demand, even a small amount of import will also damage the economy in the arecanut-growing areas.

Any fall in the price of arecanut affects the stakeholders in the arecanut sector.

He said the price of red variety of arecanut has come down from ₹800 a kg to ₹220 in the last two years. The delegation requested the minister to ban the import of arecanut immediately, and to promote the production of arecanut-based products such as mouth fresheners and other healthcare products.

The delegation was of the opinion that any move to promote new products will provide new market for arecanut, which is now being used in products such as ‘gutkha’ and ‘paan masala’.

The minister has been requested to focus on these initiatives to help stabilise the price in the arecanut market, Satishchandra said.

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