‘Aatmanirbhar’ India imports arecanut from UAE, Singapore!

India has been importing arecanut from international locations these kinds of as the UAE and Singapore, facts furnished in the Lok Sabha by the Centre show.

Stakeholders in arecanut sector have been looking for a strict handle on the import of arecanut, as they say the nation is self-enough in its generation.&#13

In a written reply to the member of Parliament from Dakshina Kannada, Nalin Kumar Kateel, the Union Minister of Condition for Commerce and Market, Anupriya Patel, mentioned the creation of arecanut in the nation was all over 15.63 lakh tonnes for the duration of 2020-21. The region imported 23,988 tonnes of arecanut valued at ₹508.59 crore all through the fiscal.

In the to start with 10 months of the current economic calendar year 2021-22, India’s arecanut imports stood at 17,890 tonnes (provisional details) valued at ₹468.12 crore. This involved imports from the international locations this sort of as the UAE and Singapore. The place imported 612 tonnes of arecanut valued at ₹12.28 crore from the UAE, and 93 tonnes of arecanut valued at ₹2.45 crore for the duration of the time period.

Aside from the above countries, India also imported arecanut from countries this kind of as Sri Lanka (9,076 tonnes valued at ₹283.53 crore), Indonesia (4,885 tonnes valued at ₹84.21 crore), Myanmar (2,882 tonnes valued at ₹76.75 crore), Malaysia (222 tonnes valued at ₹5.83 crore), and Nepal (120 tonnes valued at ₹3.07 crore) for the duration of April-January 2021-22.

Campco expresses problem

Expressing fears about the import of arecanut, Kishore Kumar Kodgi, President of Central Arecanut and Cocoa Advertising and marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd, advised BusinessLine that the UAE, Singapore and Nepal do not increase arecanut. Having said that, import of arecanut from these nations is surprising.

“We come to feel that arecanut is illegally re-routed as a result of these nations,” he stated.

Stating that desire for Indian arecanut in domestic current market is influenced by more affordable imported items, Kodgi claimed there is generally a danger of illegal imports affecting the domestic marketplace. Rigorous measures have to have to be in put to curb this kind of illegal import of arecanut from other countries, he claimed.

He said the current manufacturing of arecanut in the nation is adequate to satisfy the demands of the domestic current market.

Mentioning that the Key Minister is stressing the have to have for aatmanirbharta in just about every sector, he mentioned the import of arecanut impacts the domestic arecanut sector, which is now ‘ aatmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) in manufacturing.

Command steps

On the actions taken to discourage the import of arecanut into the region, the Minister said arecanut import in the place is restricted by imposing an import responsibility of 100 for each cent. However, the minimum-formulated SAARC international locations these as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Afghanistan have been exempted from paying out the complete of this import obligation.&#13

She also reported Customs authorities have been encouraged to look at the rules of origin with utmost treatment so as to make certain that arecanut developed in countries other than SAARC is not imported by way of the neighbouring international locations having edge of import responsibility exemption underneath SAFTA.

Apart from this, minimum import cost (MIP) has been imposed on arecanut to prohibit the unabated import and to reduce entry of inferior top quality arecanut into Indian market, destabilizing the domestic prices. Currently, the MIP is fastened at a CIF (price tag, insurance policies and freight) worth of ₹251 a kg. Import of arecanut down below this benefit is prohibited.

She said that the FSSAI (Food Basic safety and Specifications Authority of India) has advised its field workplaces to stringently adhere to the good quality standards of arecanut right before clearing the import consignments.&#13

Revealed on


March 17, 2022