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Expansion of arecanut crop – both in traditional and non-traditional areas in the country – needs to be prohibited strictly, according to DV Sadananda Gowda, Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation.
Inaugurating the kisan conference at theCentral Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI) at Kasaragod district in Kerala on Monday, Gowda said the area under arecanut in India, which stood at 94,800 hectares during 1956-57, increased to 4.72 lakh hectares in 2015-2016. The production of the commodity increased from 74,700 tonnes in 1956-57 to 7.36 lakh tonnes in 2015-16.
With limited scope for exports, there has been an increase in the import of areca nut in recent years. He said that improving the domestic markets for arecanut is a key issue of debate.
The supply chain of the commodity is a complex one where more than 75 per cent of the domestic arecanut trade is in the hands of private traders. In such a situation, there is a need to streamline the marketing systems by making it much more organised, the Minister said.
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