Mangaluru: The prices of  white arecanut (chali)  have touched Rs. 200 a kg — an all-time high for the fresh crop season, according to arecanut growers and traders.

The crop harvested during the past 45 days has begun arriving in the market  and was greeted by the unusually high price which in the past hovered  between 150 to 165 per Kg.  This, people in the know said was due to

Manchi Srinivasa Achar, president, All India Areca Growers’ Association, Puttur, said the prices had slowly shot up from Rs. 165 a kg a fortnight ago to Rs. 200 a kg since the past week.

Konkodi Padmanabha, president, the Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd. (Campco) said there was a shortage of old stock of white arecanut in the market, especially in Gujarat.Many growers did not have old stock.

In addition, as the price of the red variety of arecanut was high (between Rs. 300 to Rs. 360 a kg) there was a demand for white arecanut, which was resulting in higher prices of new arrivals of white arecanut.