Member of Parliament D V Sadananda Gowda has requested the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry to take immediate steps to ban/curb all type of import of arecanut to India.

In a letter addressed to Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamalnath, he has stated that there is something foul regarding the price of areca while importing it and that the import should be curbed to safeguard the interest of the domestic arecanut growers and also to save the public money.

In the letter, Mr Gowda has pointed out that 90 per cent of arecanut grown in Indonesia is exported to India at a very cheaper rate, causing market crisis for domestic crop in India. The total production of arecanut in India is more than sufficient for our domestic use as per the Directorate of Economics and Statistics sources.

Hence there is no necessity of importing arecanut from other countries, Mr Gowda added.

He has also requested an appointment with the minister to discuss the issue in detail to solve the long pending grievances of the local areca growers.