The Hindu Business Line : Cashew kernel exports decline

In terms of volume, the exports stood at 1,00,828 tonnes last fiscal as against 1,04,137 tonnes in 2002-03. Export of cashew nut shell liquid also dropped from 7,215 tonnes valued at Rs 9.2 crore to 6,926 tonnes worth Rs 7 crore, according to Mr Sasi Varma, Secretary, Cashew Export Council of India .

Attributing the drop to tough competition from Vietnam, the new entrant to the world cashew market, Mr Varma told Business Line that competition from other tree nuts, mainly almond, is also responsible for the decline despite the fall in the unit value of cashew kernels. "The prevailing prices in the world market is still not remunerative," he said. Exports by Vietnam had touched 80,000 tonnes in 2003 as against 63,000 tonnes the previous year. He said Vietnam was aiming at overtaking India in cashew kernel exports by 2010.

In pepper, it had already taken the top slot in the world in production and export.

He said despite drop in the unit value to Rs 178.96 per kg in 2003-04 from Rs 185.62 per kg the previous year, consumption had not picked up in major markets. Much of the Indian exports were still in the bulk form. Importers in the US, the main market for Indian cashew, are doing the value addition and marketing it under their brands. As a result, the low price of the kernel is not reflected in the price of the value-added cashew nuts displayed in the shelves of the supermarkets there.

"Thus, the consumer is not getting the benefit of low kernel prices, and this factor has a negative impact on exports," he said. Added to this, the almond lobby in the US is so strong that penetration into the market has become a difficult task.

At the current prevailing price for raw cashew nuts, the parity price for cashew kernels works out to about $2.00 per lb. Indian exporter is able to realise only about $1.75 to $1.80 per lb

He said that the price of raw cashew nuts at the global level remained very high vis-à-vis the price of cashew kernels. India and Vietnam vie with each other to corner the available raw nut market in the world, thereby raising the price of raw cashew nuts. Raw nut imports last fiscal stood at 4.5 lakh tonnes, valued at Rs 1,400 crore, as against four lakh tonnes worth Rs 1,236 crore in 2002-03Indigenous production of raw cashew nuts remained far below the requirement of the industry. Production during 2002-03 stood at 5,06,000 tonnes as against 4,70,000 tonnes the previous year. "While the installed capacity of the industry is more than 10,00,000 tonnes a year, the availability from internal sources is around half of it".

In spite of all efforts, the industry could not find adequate raw cashew nuts to meet its requirements in full, forcing many units to remain closed either round the year or for a considerable part of the year, he said.

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