Karnataka's Sirsi’s curious case of the red nut and the pink note

Arecanut traders and middlemen these days seem to be ready to shell out more to buy the produce from growers.

But this comes with a rider. The growers must be willing to take money in Rs 2,000 notes, since the government has set September 30 as the deadline for people to either exchange or deposit notes of Rs 2,000 denomination.

Traders are ready to give Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 more per quintal than the market rates, if the growers accept Rs 2,000 notes. The prices of Chali and Rashi arecanut varieties are on the ascendant after a year now.

The rates have risen in the range of Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per quintal in the last one month.

The prices of Rashi variety were in the range of Rs 45,000 to Rs 47,000 per quintal in April-may. The rates have now crossed the Rs 50,000 mark.

The Chali variety, which was in the range of Rs 35,000 to Rs 37,000, has now breached the Rs 40,000 mark.

As much as 40 per cent of the arecanut produced in Sirsi is purchased by the co-operative societies, while the rest are taken by private traders.