In further relief to farmers amid lockdown, the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd. (CAMPCO), Mangaluru, will increase its arecanut procurement price from April 29.
In addition, the cooperative will purchase more quantity of arecanut from the growers from Wednesday by increasing its procurement limit.
It is because the circulation of ‘chali’ variety (or white arecanut) has resumed in Uttar Pradesh, one of the main consumer markets for the variety in North India.
When arecanut market came to the standstill due to the lockdown, small and marginal growers heaved a sigh of relief after the cooperative resumed procurement from April 13.
M. Suresh Bhandary, Managing Director, CAMPCO, told The Hindu on Monday that the cooperative will increase its procurement price by ₹5 a kg. Hence the prices of ‘hosa adike’ (fresh arrivals) will go up from ₹250 to ₹255 a kg. and the rates of ‘chol’ (old stocks) will be hiked from ₹275 to ₹280 a kg.
The quantity of arecanut to be sold by a farmer-member to the cooperative will be increased from a quintal to a maximum of two quintals a month. In addition, instead of 20 farmers earlier, 30 farmers can sell the produce in a day in a branch.
He said that the cooperative is purchasing the produce in its 26 direct branches and 15 sub-centres (which are other cooperative societies) in Karnataka and Kerala. Arecanut is being purchased thrice in a week in Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and parts of North Kerala.
Mr. Bhandary said that since people in Uttar Pradesh use ‘chali’ variety for chewing purpose at homes and also as a mouth freshner, the circulation of ‘chali’ has resumed in the consumer market. Grocery shops in that State have also resumed selling the same.
The managing director said that the cooperative has not resumed the procurement of red variety of arecanut.
