Cooperative bodies marketing arecanut seek tax cut to 5% on copper sulphate
With the 56th Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting likely to be held in July, cooperative bodies marketing arecanut in the State have sought a reduction in GST on copper sulphate from a maximum 18% to 5%.
Copper sulphate is a major ingredient in Bordeaux mixture, a fungicide used to control ‘kole roga’ (fruit rot disease) in arecanut plantations. The disease hits arecanut plantations when there is incessant heavy rains. The mixture is also used to control fungal diseases in crops such as coffee, rubber, cardamom, pepper, and ginger.
Arecanut farmers in coastal, Malnad belts and in some districts of central Karnataka are highly dependent on copper sulphate to control the disease.
Karnataka largest producer
The Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Ramnath Thakur told the Lok Sabha on March 18 that Karnataka ranks first in arecanut production with 10 lakh tonnes from 6.8 lakh hectares out of a total production of 14.11 lakh tonnes from 9.4 lakh hectares in India, as per final estimate for 2023-24.
A. Kishore Kumar Kodgi, president of the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative (CAMPCO) Ltd, Mangaluru, told The Hindu: “We have been writing to the Union government to revise the GST for copper sulphate from 18% to 5% since 2021, but to no avail.”
