Arecanut production sees 55% jump in 5 years

Arecanut output in the state has seen a growth of fifty five for every cent over the last five years, if the written reply in Rajya Sabha is any indicator.

The overall arecanut output increased from 7.13 lakh tonnes (lt) in 2015-16 to 11.07 lt in 2019-20, registering a growth of fifty five.twenty five for every cent.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha member KC Ramamurthy, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, stated that Karnataka, Assam, Kerala, Tripura, Meghalaya and West Bengal are the major producers of arecanut in the state.

ARECA Output (in tonnes)

(Resource: Rajya Sabha answer)

Karnataka, which contributes approximately seventy five for every cent to the domestic output, noticed a growth of 95 for every cent in output in the earlier five years. Overall output in the Condition increased to eight.5 lt in 2019-20 from four.36 lt in 2015-16, registering a growth of 94.95 for every cent.

It stated that the spot and output of arecanut has been revised in Karnataka from 2018-19 onwards, dependent on the comprehensive enumeration using GPS-enabled cellular application for estimation of spot less than unique crops.

Kerala and Meghalaya noticed a drop in arecanut output during the period concerning 2015-16 and 2019-20. The output came down from one.02 lt in 2015-16 to sixty three,000 tonnes in 2019-20 in Kerala. In Meghalaya, the output dipped to 24,010 tonnes in 2019-20 as against 26,two hundred tonnes in 2015-16.

The minister’s reply stated that most of the arecanut manufactured in the state is consumed domestically and India’s share of export in the world-wide sector is significantly less than 5 for every cent.

When the member wanted to know the constraints faced by the ministry in constituting an ‘Arecanut Board’ on the strains of Coffee Board, Rubber Board, Tea Board, and many others, the minister replied that there are already a variety of organizations these as the Directorate of Arecanut and Spices Advancement (DASD), the Central Plantation Crops Investigate Institute (CPCRI), and the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Advertising and Processing Cooperative Ltd (Campco) that are doing the job to market arecanut and safeguard passions of arecanut farmers.