Raviprasad Kamila/The Hindu

Mangalore, Jun 2: Price of the old stock (popularly known as “chol”) of white arecanut has increased by Rs. 10 to Rs. 110 a kg in Mangalore. This is slightly higher than the price that prevailed here last year at this time.

Arecanut harvested between December 2007 and May 2008 is considered old stock in the market here.

However, there has been no increase in the price of new stock of arecanut harvested between December 2008 and May 2009, which is ranging between Rs. 75 and Rs. 77 a kg, according to sources in the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (CAMPCO) and the South Kanara Agriculturists’ Cooperative Marketing Society (SKACMS).

A.S. Bhat, Executive Director of CAMPCO, told The Hindu that his company was offering a price of Rs. 100 a kg to Rs. 110 a kg for old stock for the past week. The price of old stock stood at Rs. 95 a kg to Rs. 100 a kg during the same period in 2008.

D.B. Balakrishna Gowda, president, SKACMS, where prices are decided through auction, said that the old stock was fetching Rs. 98 to Rs. 102 a kg. New arrivals were ruling from Rs. 76 a kg to Rs. 78 a kg, he said.

Mr. Gowda said that the quantity of the old stock arriving at the market had decreased compared to last year. This might be because all the farmers were not releasing their stocks to the market as they were expecting the price to go up further. In Gujarat, there was a good demand for large-sized white arecanut, particularly those grown in the Vittla belt of Dakshina Kannada. S.R. Rangamurthy, president, CAMPCO, and Manchi Srinivasa Achar, president, All India Areca Growers’ Association based at Puttur, told The Hindu that untimely rains in March 2008 had affected the sun-drying of arecanut in Dakshina Kannada. Hence many small and marginal farmers could not stock their produce. They sold it immediately after the harvest. As a result the stocks were less. In addition, “kole roga” (fruit rot disease), which aggravated in the arecanut plantations in 2007 rainy season, had affected the yields.