CAMPCO wants govt to check illegal arecanut import

The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (CAMPCO) has expressed concern over the ‘illegal import’ of arecanut through various channels to the state, which is posing a threat to the domestic market, resulting in financial loss to the government.

In a statement here, CAMPCO president Krishore Kumar Kodgi said arecanut is surreptitiously finding its way into the country, notably through the integrated cargo terminal of Mangaluru International Airport.

The airport, in a media release, had stated that it facilitated the inbound handling of arecanut weighing 1,519 kg in 60 bags as belly air cargo from Agartala in Tripura to Mangaluru through its integrated cargo terminal (ICT) in January.

Kodgi said the unlawful practice adversely affects the local farmers and cooperative organisations in stabilising arecanut prices in the domestic market. It also denies the livelihood of people dependent on arecanut cultivation, he said.

He wanted the government to take urgent steps to check the illegal import of arecanut. The authorities should urgently examine the origin, pricing and accompanying documentation of the imported arecanut, and help check tax evasion to safeguard the interest of arecanut growers, Kodgi said.

The CAMPCO has written letters to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in this regard, he added.