Arecanut production in the country has seen a growth of 55 per cent over the last five years, if the written reply in Rajya Sabha is any indication.

The total arecanut production increased from 7.13 lakh tonnes (lt) in 2015-16 to 11.07 lt in 2019-20, registering a growth of 55.25 per cent.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha member KC Ramamurthy, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, said that Karnataka, Assam, Kerala, Tripura, Meghalaya and West Bengal are the major producers of arecanut in the country.

ARECA PRODUCTION (in tonnes)

(Source: Rajya Sabha answer)

Karnataka, which contributes nearly 75 per cent to the domestic production, saw a growth of 95 per cent in production in the past five years. Total production in the State increased to 8.5 lt in 2019-20 from 4.36 lt in 2015-16, registering a growth of 94.95 per cent.

It said that the area and production of arecanut has been revised in Karnataka from 2018-19 onwards, based on the complete enumeration using GPS-enabled mobile app for estimation of area under different crops.

Kerala and Meghalaya saw a decline in arecanut production during the period between 2015-16 and 2019-20. The production came down from 1.02 lt in 2015-16 to 63,000 tonnes in 2019-20 in Kerala. In Meghalaya, the production dipped to 24,010 tonnes in 2019-20 as against 26,200 tonnes in 2015-16.

The minister’s reply said that most of the arecanut produced in the country is consumed domestically and India’s share of export in the global market is less than 5 per cent.

When the member wanted to know the constraints faced by the ministry in constituting an ‘Arecanut Board’ on the lines of Coffee Board, Rubber Board, Tea Board, etc, the minister replied that there are already a number of agencies such as the Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development (DASD), the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), and the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd (Campco) that are working to promote arecanut and protect interests of arecanut farmers.

Published on February 9, 2021