more juice. White arecanut prices quote at record high as new season begins; good crop likely this year

The procurement season for white arecanut has begun positively with the major arecanut cooperative – Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd – quoting a maximum of ₹425 a kg for new arrivals on Monday. During the same time a year ago, new arrivals of white arecanut got a maximum of around ₹360-365 a kg. Campco quoted a maximum of ₹500 a kg for old stocks of white arecanut on Monday.

Added to this, farmers are also expecting a good crop of white arecanut during the current season.

(Arecanut growers treat the Ganesha festival as the cut-off period for determining stocks as new and old. However, Campco treats October 1 as the cut-off period for determining new and old stocks of white arecanut as the date of the festival varies every year.

The crops harvested until summer treated as new stocks till September 30 become old stocks from October 1. The ripe current crop in most of the plantations becomes a new stock after proper processing procedures.)

Good crop likely

Asked about the likely crop scenario for the current season, Mahesh Puchhappady, General Secretary of All India Areca Growers’ Association, told BusinessLine that the crop is expected to be good this year.

Agreeing with this, Subrahmanya Bhat, a grower from Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada, told BusinessLine that there was no major outbreak of fruit rot disease during the monsoon months this year, though a few plants (including his) here and there were affected by it. This is one of the factors for the estimation, he said.

Record high price for new arrivals

Terming ₹425/kg, a record high for new supplies at the beginning of a new procurement season, Puchhappady said new stocks are coming in meagre quantities as the harvesting is yet to begin in a majority of arecanut plantations.

The shortage of the commodity in the consuming markets due to the control of illegal imports could be one of the reasons for the new stocks to open at this price, he said.

Some considerable quantity of crop may come in a month or so, Puchhappady said.

Patte Venugopal, a farmer from Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, said since the procurement season has opened with a strong note for new stocks this year, the price may not come down till December-end.

He said the harvesting of the crop usually starts in November. After dry sun processing, sizeable quantities of the new supplies would come to the market by January-end. The price of the new stocks to be watched then, he said.

Kishore Kumar Kodgi, President of Campco, said the farmers should give quality new stocks after proper processing. Some farmers tend to bring new supplies to the market without completing reasonable processing procedures considering the price. That should be avoided, he said.

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