I am not a business-oriented person and I do not claim to know much about how the betel nut business should be run; however, I do know my betel nuts – someone has been climbing the plants without permission.
Last week, I noticed, on several occasions, a couple of teenagers selling bags and bags of betel nuts to a local vendor – all of which were bought and resold at the “dry-season” price range. I wonder when these kids planted their betel nut trees?It takes about 5 to 7 years for a betel nut tree to mature and bear nuts. Most of the betel nut trees on island are located on private or leased properties – owned by individuals who had the foresight to invest in the trees.Recently, I have been hearing a lot of complains about so and so climbing betel nut trees without permission – at some point, someone was beaten up. Further, I have heard form consumers of the nuts complain about the size of the nuts they bought – too small. The complaints have not ceased and the businesses still manage to keep selling betel nuts by the hundreds.I have been told that it is illegal to buy stolen goods – let alone resell them for a profit. If so, I am guessing that most of the people who have bought betel-nuts in Koror could be charged with buying stolen goods from legitimate and licensed businesses. I am almost certain that a majority of the betel nuts sold in Koror were reaped off from somewhere and sold to the local vendors – who, maybe for lack of manpower and resources, did not bother to verify where the nuts come from and from whose trees.I maybe going nuts over this, but someone who is more attuned to legal matters and societal appropriateness should really chew on this issue – before someone falls off a tree that is not his or hers. In addition, since betel nut chewing has been linked to a whole myriad of diseases, I think the Ministry Health should step in and put tags on the betel nuts sold in Koror – similar to the tags used by food vendors.I hope that you, as a consumer of betel nuts, know your nuts – where they come from. Likewise, I hope you have not spat on anyone for the sake of your betel nuts. Chew on!
