Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (NR)

Mangalore, Sep 2: An additional notification has been issued here recently by the director general of foreign trade (DGFT), under the union ministry of commerce and industry allowing import of betelnuts (arecanuts) only through New Mangalore Port. The noticification clearly states that whole, split, ground and other variety of betel nuts should be imported only through New Mangalore Port, stated official sources.

This is the third notification issued superseding the earlier two notifications which was issued  once on February 20 and then on July this year by the DGFT on import of betel nuts  and also betel nuts of Nepalese origin through Jogbani and Panitanki Land Custom Stations, sources informed.

In view of this decision, a delegation of the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Limited (CAMPCO) and elected representatives of DK and Udupi had earlier in August met Kamal Nath, union minister of commerce, in Delhi and had requested him to cancel the July notification in-order to prevent imports from Nepal.

In order to strengthen their case they showed the minister all the details pertaining to imports and exports of arecanut published in the Areca nut and Spices Data Base in 2007 by the Directorate of Areca nut and Spices Development, Kozhikode, under the Union Ministry of Agriculture.

The data base nowhere makes a mention about the arecanut grown in Nepal. On the other hand, India exported 219 tonnes of arecanut worth Rs 109.85 lac to Nepal in 2005-06, 347 tonnes worth Rs 188.10 lac in 2004-05 and 167 tonnes worth Rs 89.70 lac during 2003-04. This clearly indicates that the Nepalese are the basically the users and consumers of betel nuts, the delegation members told the minister.

Arecanut from other nations are brought to Nepal with lesser import duty in Nepal and then the same is re-exported to India legally and illegally. Due to this, India is suffering heavy revenue loss and imports has created a crisis in the domestic arecanut market, rued the president of CAMPCO S R Rangamurthy in a memorandum presented to the minister.