Dwindling business: Arecanut growers meet Nirmala, Piyush & Tomar

Troubled with low tariff as well as the menace of large-scale smuggling of arecanut to India, the desi growers met the top representatives of the govt.  The Campco delegation led by its President Kishore Kodgi, met several union ministers and raised issues related to the trade.

The representatives from Tota Utpannagala Marata Sahakara Sangha Niyamith (TUMCOS), Malnad Areca Marketing Co-operative Society Ltd (MAMCOS) and others were members of the delegation. On this occasion Minister for Home Affairs, Govt. of Karnataka, Hartalu Halappa, MLA, Karnataka, Sahakar Bharati Patron Ramesh Vaidya and others were present.

The delegation also met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, Piyush Goyal and submitted a memorandum and briefed the ministers about the problems facing the farmers.

The visiting delegation demanded revision in the Minimum Tariff Value and 18 percent GST on copper sulphate.

According to a letter submitted to the Union Ministers, a copy of which is with Indian Cooperative, “It is pertinent to mention that the Domestic Market is currently being flooded with imported arecanut. As the Domestic Market price is lower than the price of the imported Arecanut, we kindly request your good selves to instruct the Commerce Ministry to increase the Minimum Tariff value. Hence, we request your good selves to issue fresh Notification through the DGFT for raising the Minimum Tariff value to above Rs.360/- based on the current cost of cultivation”, it added.

It further reads that, “It is learned that every day a quantity of nearly 10S tons of Arecanut valued at approximately Rs.5.20 Crores is being transported to the Pan Masala Factory in about 5 Vehicles with the active connivance of officials.

“This huge quantity of Arecanut being transported illegally causes a great loss to the Government Exchequer. It is kindly requested to make it mandatory to install CCTVs at Check Posts and also entry and exit points of Pan Masala Factories situated across the country so as to keep a check on the Vehicle Movement”, the letter demands.

The letter adds, “It is also learned that a substantial quantity of Arecanut is being transported either through non-billing or through invoicing via Bijapur, Tumkur and Maharashtra Borders. In addition to the above, this too causes a great loss to the Government’s Exchequer and the Government loses in crores. Make it mandatory for every toll gate to cross check goods with Bills and E Way Bills”, it underlined.

The letter submitted to the Union Ministers is given below:

Campco