Wed Mar 19 09:14:45 UTC 2025: ## Karnataka’s Arecanut Industry Seeks Board, Faces Government Rejection

**Mangaluru, March 19, 2025** – Despite Karnataka’s leading role in arecanut production, accounting for 10 lakh tonnes (71%) of India’s total 14.11 lakh tonnes in 2023-24, the Union government has once again rejected calls for a dedicated arecanut board.

This decision was reiterated by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ramnath Thakur, in response to a parliamentary question on March 18th. While acknowledging Karnataka’s dominant position in arecanut cultivation, spanning 6.8 lakh hectares, he stated that no proposal for an arecanut board is currently under consideration.

This rejection echoes a similar statement made in 2021 by then-Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar. Calls for the board, championed over a decade ago by the Karnataka Agriculture Price Commission and reiterated recently by the Areca Growers’ Association in Shivamogga, aim to protect growers’ interests, improve value addition, stabilize prices, and combat pests and fungal infections.

While a technical committee was formed in 2015 to explore the proposal, it yielded no concrete results. Opposition to the board from some cooperative societies, concerned about bureaucratic control, further complicated matters.

The government did highlight existing support measures, including a 100% import duty and a revised Minimum Import Price (MIP) for arecanut, increased to ₹351 a kg. Furthermore, an additional ₹37 crore has been sanctioned under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) for disease management in Karnataka’s arecanut plantations.

Despite these measures, the lack of a dedicated arecanut board continues to be a concern for Karnataka’s significant arecanut industry, which contrasts with the existence of similar boards for other crops like tea, coffee, and spices.

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