Government today further hiked the minimum import price on arecanuts to Rs 251 per kg with an aim to safeguard domestic farmers.
"The minimum price for import of areca nuts is enhanced from existing Rs 162 to Rs 251 per kg," Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
The minimum import price was earlier hiked in June 2015 after various stakeholders made representations against increasing imports of arecanuts from neighbouring countries taking advantage of low import duty provided under SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Agreement).
SAFTA was implemented in 2006 between India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The minimum import price (MIP) is the rate below which no imports are allowed.
Karnataka is the largest producer of arecanut, followed by Kerala and Assam.
As per estimates, the production has been stagnant at around 6.5 lakh tonnes per year.
According to a report, the country imported 67,824 tonnes of arecanut worth USD 159 million during 2015-16 as against 1.10 lakh tonnes worth USD 229.96 million during 2014-15.
In 2015-16, the total production of the commodity stood at 7.02 lakh tonnes as against 7.27 lakh tonnes in the previous fiscal.
While the import crossed 15 per cent of the total production in 2014-15, it stood at 9.66 per cent of total production in 2015-16.
India mainly imports arecanut from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
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