Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SB)
Mangaluru, Mar 3: S R Sathischandra Bhat, president, Campco Ltd dismissed the recent rumors on areca nut where a few sources termed it as bad for health and also called for ban on its cultivation.
Addressing media here on Friday, March 2 he said, "In recent days, areca nut is earning more publicity in wrong direction. Some reports claimed that areca nut causes cancer. These reports are baseless and various labs and food testing units certified that there is nothing in areca which leads to health problems. Union ministers for health and commerce assured us a meeting regarding this and we will try to inform them about these rumors and its consequences on farmers. We have already received a written assurance from the ministry stating that there is no ban on areca nut.
“Campco is always with the farmers. It is right that the rate of areca has slightly come down. But there is no need to panic. Within a week there will be a rise of Rs20 to 30 in the price. Beside this, Campco has started to receive orders from Uttar Pradesh. The new market will boost our business and it will reflect in purchase price also,” he said.
Nivedan Nempe, the inventor of areca tea said, “Areca tea, a product of areca nut is getting more popularity among customers. The product has been awarded as ‘Best Agriculture Start Up' from the Indian Food and Agricultural Council. Earlier, the same product won a 'Make in India' award. It shows that areca is good for health and there nothing wrong in its consumption. We have already started the export of areca tea to West Indies and UAE. We have orders from Netherlands also. We get so many scientific papers on areca. All papers state that areca is good for health. It acts like a medicine for many diseases. But this information is not known to public. Hence, rumors mongers are spreading false news on areca. If areca tea is getting popularity and the central government is backing it, why do we need to panic on
rumors?" he asked.
Suresh Bhandary, managing director, Campco, and Keshav Bhat were present.