Mangaluru: Prices of ‘hosa adike’ or fresh arrivals of white arecanut (also called chali) are likely to go up within a fortnight, according to S.R. Satishchandra, president, Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (Campco) Ltd.

Addressing reporters here on Friday he said the prices may steadily go up to ₹15 a kg. Hosa adike now fetches between ₹220 a kg and ₹225 a kg.

Mr. Satishchandra attributed it to the demand for fresh arrivals of chali in small packets from Uttar Pradesh market.

M. Suresh Bhandary, managing director, Campco said the cooperative would send 150 tonnes of hosa adike in 1 kg packets to Uttar Pradesh per month after a week. It has already got demand for 120 tonnes of small packets from Uttar Pradesh per month.

Mr. Bhandary said the cooperative has been sending 150 tonnes of “hale adike” (old stock called chol) per month to Ahmedabad for the past eight months. After it relaunched sale of hale adike in small packets, the demand for hosa adike in small packets rose.

Mr. Satishchandra said the Campco has been taking steps to stabilise the prices of arecanut in the domestic market. It was in constant touch with the Union government authorities since meeting the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in March, 2011.

The government increased the minimum import price for all types of arecanut from ₹35 a kg to ₹75 a kg in 2012. Later, it was hiked to ₹100 a kg in May, 2013, and then to ₹162 a kg in June, 2016. It was increased to ₹251 a kg in January, 2017. It helped in maintaining stability in the domestic market making the imported arecanut costlier.

He said Campco took initiative to prepare draft standard specifications for arecanut through Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). As a result, the government formed a committee and the draft is now under circulation.

The FSSAI committee has called a meeting on March 16 in Delhi in connection with fixing standards for arecanut. The Campco has been invited to the meeting where it will provide inputs