Our Bureau

Mangalore , July 20

THE Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd has said the Union Government should cancel all the advance licences that were issued for the import of arecanut and cocoa products.

A Campco delegation - which met the Kerala Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, in Thiruvananthapuram recently - apprised Mr Chandy of the large-scale import of arecanut. Mr Chandy was told that these imports are affecting the interests of arecanut growers in Kerala and Karnataka.

Citing the instances of the cancellation of advance licences on pepper and clove, the delegation said the same course of action should be taken with respect to arecanut and cocoa.

In a press release here on Wednesday, the Campco President, Mr L.N. Kudoor, said Mr Chandy had agreed to send an official delegation to the Centre. Mr Chandy has also written letters to the Union Commerce Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, seeking the cancellation of advance licences for the import of arecanut and cocoa.

Mr Kudoor said some traders were importing arecanut by utilising the advance licences issued to them a few years ago. The imported arecanut stocks — which are of inferior quality — are being sold at all the major markets at Rs 35 to Rs 40 a kg, where as the production cost in India is estimated at Rs 60 a kg. He said an estimated 50,000 tonnes of arecanut was being imported every year. Following this, there was no demand for domestic arecanut in West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh - the major arecanut-consuming States.

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