Demand to hike areca import price

Minimum import price for arecanut should be hiked to Rs 300 per kg from the existing Rs 251 to protect the domestic growers from price crash, demanded two legislators from Karnataka on Thursday.

With the largescale import of low-quality arecanut, the domestic prices have crashed, BJP legislators Araga Jnanendra (Thirthalli) and H Halappa (Soraba) told reporters here.

Pleas have been submitted to Union Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Union Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla, they said.