KOCHI: Arecanut ( supari) prices will be under pressure as Karnataka has decided to ban gutka. A jump in the import of inferior quality arecanut through Bangladesh will also hit local prices. Karnataka is the largest producer of arecanut followed by Kerala and Assam. But the fall may not be sharp as advance estimates show a drop in production for 2012-13.
Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development data show that output has dropped 5% to 5,29,097 tonne mainly due to a 20% fall in production in Kerala where growers are increasingly turning to lucrative crops like rubber and nutmeg. "The gutka ban has made no major impact on demand but the announcement has played havoc with market sentiment, leading to a dip in prices," said Srinivasa Achar, president of All India Areca Growers Association.
In coastal Karnataka, the price of the new crop of white variety has fallen by Rs 5 to Rs 145 per kg. The market fears that cheap imports will do more harm to local prices than the ban since it continues to flood the market despite government curbs. The import duty is 108% and the minimum import price was raised recently to Rs 110 per kg from Rs 75.
"Poor quality arecanut from Indonesia is routed through Bangladesh and Nepal. The suppliers make use of concessional trade duty these countries have with India," said M Suresh Bhandary, managing director of Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative based at Mangalore.
The processor has suggested that the Central Food Technological Research Institute be given the task of checking import quality. According to Homey Cherian, director at Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Development, total arecanut import during April-December 2012 reached 60,590 tonne as against 71,512 tonne the whole year of 2011-12. The indication is that imports could reach around 80,000 tonnes for the year.
Source:-economictimes.indiatimes.com
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