Mangaluru: The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd (Campco) recorded a turnover of Rs 3,735 crore and a profit before tax of Rs 49.6 crore in 2025-26.Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, Campco president SR Satishchandra said the board had recommended a 14% dividend, subject to approval by the general body.Arecanut remained the cooperative’s core business. Campco procured 58,742.8 MT of arecanut worth Rs 2,924.3 crore and sold 59,088.6 MT for Rs 2,985.2 crore. Procurement comprised 24,052.1 MT of red arecanut and 34,690.7 MT of white arecanut. The cooperative also procured 1,704.8 MT of rubber and 1,656.1 MT of pepper.Satishchandra expressed concern over the legal and illegal import of arecanut, and urged the govt to stop such imports. He sought a ‘one nation, one market’ and ‘one nation, one tax’ regime, stating that mandi tax in Uttar Pradesh and APMC cess in Karnataka were distorting interstate trade. The issue, he said, had been raised with Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Amit Shah, as well as the Uttar Pradesh govt.He said Campco had paid farmers Rs 450/kg for arecanut last year, while the market price had risen to between Rs 500/kg and Rs 530/kg. The cooperative is addressing yellow leaf disease, fruit rot and tree mortality in Sullia, Belthangady and Kadaba. It is also promoting mixed cropping involving coconut, sugarcane and coffee.More than 1 lakh cocoa seedlings were distributed last year. Campco also provided copper sulphate, branded agricultural inputs and mobile soil testing services. Member benefits worth Rs 86.4 lakh were disbursed.The chocolate factory produced 12,606.4 MT and recorded sales of Rs 488.7 crore. A refiner costing Rs 12 crore has been installed, increasing cocoa-butter processing capacity by 15 MT a day.Campco has joined National Cooperative Exports Limited, exported 130 MT of arecanut to the Maldives and participated in the Gulfood festival in Dubai. An export unit is planned, with machinery expected to be installed within two years.Infrastructure plans include a 30,000-sqft warehouse in Shivamogga, a grading hall at Channagiri, and new procurement centres and branches. Wind power meets 56.8% of the factory’s electricity needs. A 500 kW solar project at Puttur generated 4.8 lakh units, while a 580 kW rooftop project is under way.Campco had 1,53,794 members as of March 31, 2026, with paid-up share capital of Rs 66.3 crore and reserves of Rs 545.6 crore. It has been assigned CRISIL A (Stable) and CRISIL A1 ratings.International conference next yearCampco will organise the International Arecanut Conference 2027 on Jan 16 and 17 at Hotel Ocean Pearl in Mangaluru. Researchers, experts, growers and other stakeholders will discuss scientific developments, emerging challenges, technology, value addition and the future of the arecanut sector.
