July 29, 2025

According to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the import value of arecanut has seen a significant decline over the past three financial years. The statistics indicate a drop from $258.19 million in 2022-23 to $147.99 million in the following year and further down to $143.45 million by 2024-25. This information was articulated by Jitin Prasada, the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, during a session in Lok Sabha. He addressed an unstarred question posed by MP Kota Srinivas Poojary from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru. While providing these figures, the Minister did not specify the quantity of arecanut imported from various countries. However, he mentioned that the major exporters of arecanut to India include Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, Oman, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. Despite the declining import value, Prasada noted that there seems to be no adverse impact on the prices of arecanut in the domestic market. He provided insights into the average prices of arecanut in two prominent markets—Sirsi in Karnataka and Kozhikode in Kerala—during the period of January to June for the years 2024 and 2025. The average price in the Kozhikode market reached ₹31,916.67 per quintal in 2024 and witnessed a slight increase to ₹32,388.83 per quintal in 2025. In the Sirsi market, prices climbed from ₹36,316.17 per quintal in 2024 to ₹37,856.67 in 2025. This information suggests that despite the import volumes diminishing, local prices have not been significantly interrupted.

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Tags: Arecanut, Imports, Prices, Commerce, India,