Betel is an evergreen, perennial climber widely grown all over the Sri Lanka. The commercial product is the leaf, mainly used for chewing with Arecanut, slaked lime, tobacco and some other ingredients.  Betel chewing habit in Sri Lanka goes dates back to **0 B.C and during that time betel was a prestigious item used by the prestigious society of the country. The origin of betel is believed to be in Malaysia or in surrounding East Asian region and it is said to have been introduced to Sri Lanka and other South Asian Countries by Chinese and Arab   merchants. However, over ten wild relatives of betel are found in Sri Lanka.

Today betel is grown for local consumption and exports and Major betel growing countries are Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Bangladesh. Pakistan is the major importer of Sri Lankan betel.