Betel nut farmers struggle amid market woes

Betel nut farming is done in 4,054 hectares in five districts of Koshi Province. The annual production is around 15,000 tons. However, local farmers are facing difficulty in finding a market for their produce.

Local farmers say that they are not getting fair prices for their products. They say this leaves them with no option but to accept whatever prices are offered. While the government is encouraging farmers to invest in betel nut farming, they lament that the government is not doing the needful to find a market for their produce.

In the fiscal year 2022/23, Koshi Province produced 14,561 tons of betel nuts. But local farmers failed to secure a reasonable price for their crops.

Surendra Sah, who has been in the betel nut business for the past three decades in Arjundhara Municipality of Jhapa, blames government indifference for the farmers’ plight. “High-quality betel nuts are smuggled to India by middlemen. They then import nuts of inferior quality for distribution in Nepal,” Shah said. “Instead of promoting exports, the government appears to be encouraging betel nut imports. This has put the farmers in a precarious situation.”

Organizing a press conference recently, local farmers demanded that the government allow them to export betel nuts to buyers in third countries. They have threatened to launch protests if the government failed to address their concerns.

According to the Nepal Betel Nut Farmers Initiation Committee, over a million farmers are engaged in betel nut cultivation. They argue that the availability of imported betel nuts at low prices negatively affects local farmers’ income. Gita Prasad Adhikari, president of the committee, said that the local farmers should be allowed to sell betel nuts to buyers in third countries. “If our demands are not met, over a million farmers will take to the streets,” he warned.

Farmers face challenges

Dipendra Dhakal from Arjundhara-8, Jhapa, has betel nut plants covering all his land. His farm is located within the Betel Nuts Production Zone designated by the government. However, he faces difficulties when attempting to sell his produce in the market. Two years ago, security personnel harassed him, suspecting him of smuggling betel nuts. “The police demanded proof that these products were grown on my farm,” he recalled. “Betel nut production is good, and the demand in the market is also high. However, taking betel nuts to the market is a challenge.”

Due to such hassles, farmers like Dhakal often sell their betel nuts to buyers who approach their farms, even if the prices offered are low. Many of these buyers come from India.

Betel nut farming and trade in Nepal began before the 1990s. The trade centered in the bordering areas of Koshi Province. Indian traders used to come to Nepal to place orders for betel nuts grown in Nepal. But the situation has changed now. 

Kakarbhitta used to be the hub of betel nut trade in Nepal. There is still a street named ‘Supari (betel nut) Lane’ in Kakarbhitta. Today, betel nuts are no longer traded but are instead smuggled, according to locals.

Local residents claim that the government led by Baburam Bhattarai introduced stricter regulations for betel nut trade in January, 2011 by making certificate of origin mandatory for betel nut exports. Since then, Nepali farmers have been grappling with challenges.

According to the 1950 Treaty of Trade and Commerce between Nepal and India, Nepal cannot export goods imported from a third country to India. However, betel nuts imported from countries like Indonesia are being smuggled into India by Indian ‘couriers’ through routes like Mechi Bridge and the riverbanks.

The government initially tasked the Nepal Betel Nuts Farming Development Committee with issuing certificates of origin to betel nut farmers. However, a legal dispute over alleged discrepancies in the issuance of certificates led to a standstill in betel nut exports from Jhapa. Local farmers were left with unsold produce as traders exclusively focused on sending imported betel nuts to Indian markets.

“Traders are sending imported betel nuts to India, while our produce rots in warehouses due to a lack of buyers,” Radheshyam Neupane, a farmer from Arjundhara, lamented the situation.

Farmers in Jhapa insist that local production can meet domestic betel nut demand and are puzzled as to why the government allows betel nut imports. “Now that imports have been opened up, our betel nuts won’t find buyers,” Nilkanth Tiwari from the Betel Nut Zone in Jhapa said. Betel nuts, imported from third countries, are being smuggled into India from Nepal as the southern neighbor levies high import duty on betel nuts.