Why farmers have been urging the Centre to control the import of arecanuts

Subject :Geography

Context:

The country’s arecanut farmers are faced with an unfair challenge as imports of cheaper varieties, especially from Bhutan, flooded the domestic markets and dragged down the price of the product after the central government relaxed import restrictions.
In Karnataka, about 35-40 per cent of the crop has been affected in 2022

Minimum import price (MIP):

MIP is the rate below which no imports are allowed.
Imports without MIP or at low rates threaten domestic prices and lead them to crash.
In September this year, the central government allowed the import of 17,000 tonnes of green (fresh) arecanut from Bhutan without a minimum import price (MIP).
Import of arecanut has taken place mostly from Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Indonesia.

Arecanut:

It is a tropical crop generally known as the betel nut.
It is a palm tree species under the family of Arecaceae.
Arecanut is considered a horticulture crop in the state, a commercial crop at the national level and dry fruit at the international level.
Areca nut is not a native crop of India.
It was from Southeast Asia that the crop spread to Asia and India where it is cultivated as a cash crop.
Karnataka produces about 80% of the arecanut in the country, followed by Kerala and Assam.
Globally, India is the leading producer of arecanut, followed by Bangladesh, Myanmar and Indonesia.
Indonesia is the top exporter of arecanut and Thailand is the top importer.
These crops are generally impacted by yellow leaf disease, blast disease and fruit rot disease.
Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Co-operative Limited or CAMPCO is founded in 1973 for the development of these crops in Karnataka and Kerala.