The Hindu Business Line : Bring cashew under farm export scheme, Centre urged

The Cashew Export Promotion Council (CEPC) has urged the Centre to include cashew in the Vishesh Krishi Aur Gram Udyog Yojana VKGUY) to improve its competitiveness in the world market.

Addressing the 52nd Annual General Meeting of the Council, Mr Walter D'Souza, Chairman, CEPC, said India was facing stringent competition from other cashew exporting countries and hence he requested the Union Government to restore cashew exports in the eligible list for VKGUY, with retrospective effect, similar to other agricultural products like walnuts, which continue to enjoy VKGUY benefits.

"Our efforts and dialogue with the Government are at an advanced stage and it is hoped that the scheme will be in place at an early date", he said. The foreign exchange earned by the country through export of cashew kernels, cashewnut shell liquid and allied products during 2006-07 was $545 million, equivalent to Rs 2,465.44 crore. Among the agricultural commodities exported from India, cashew held the third position contributing 0.44 per cent of the total export earnings of the country during 2006-07.

Export of cashew kernels during 2006-07 was 1,18,540 tonnes valued at Rs 2,455.15crore ($543 million) as against 1,14,143 tonnes valued at Rs 2,514.86 crore ($568 million.) during 2005-06. There was an increase of 3.85 per cent in quantity and decrease of 2.37 per cent in value.

The average unit export price realized during 2006-07 was Rs 207.12 per kg compared with Rs 220.33 per kg during 2005-06, recording a decrease of 6 per cent. Export of cashewnut shell liquid during 2006-07 was 6,139 tonnes valued at Rs10.29 crore against 6,463 tonnes valued at Rs 7.21 crore during the previous year.

There was a decrease of 5.01 per cent in terms of quantity and 42.72 per cent increase in terms of value. The unit value realised for cashewnut shell liquid during 2006-07 was Rs 16.76 a kg. In the previous year this was Rs. 11.16 a kg. The increase was 50.18 per cent.

Cashew exports are engines of employment and this is what makes this industry very important to our country. It provides employment (direct and indirect) to about 10 lakh workers, 95 per cent of whom are rural women from the underprivileged sections of the society, he said.

During 2006-07, the US continued to be our major buyer of cashew kernels importing 46,245 tonnes valued at Rs969.51 crore, accounting for 39.01 per cent of our total exports in quantity terms and 39.49 per cent in value terms. The Netherlands was the second largest importer of cashew kernels from India with an in take of 19,360 tonnes valued at Rs 385.07 crore, representing 16.33 per cent in quantity and 15.68 per cent in value terms.

Export to American Zone was 40.47 per cent, European Zone 35.39 per cent, West Asia and Africa 11.12 per cent, South East and Far East Zone 5.71 per cent, Oceanic Zone 1.31 per cent. There has been an increase of about 6.72 per cent to the American Zone. Exports to European zone and South East and Far East Asian zones showed a decrease of 3.08 per cent and 8.49 per cent respectively.

Import of raw cashewnuts into India during 2006-07 was 5,86,044 tonnes valued at Rs1,811.62 crore against 5,65,400 tonnes valued at Rs2,162.95 crore during 2005-06. This was 3.65 per cent more in quantity and 16.24 per cent less in value compared to the previous year. The average import price was Rs. 30.91 a kg during 2006-07 against Rs 38.26 during 2005-06.

Cashewnut Shell Liquid (CNSL), a by-product of the cashew industry is a versatile raw material with innumerable industrial applications. Cardanol, which is purified and distilled CNSL are also exported from India. Cardanol has been already included in the list of items eligible for VKGUY benefits. However, CNSL in its natural form has been inadvertently left out. This is purely an agricultural product and no export incentives are available for its exports. "I request that CNSL in its natural form may be included in the list of items eligible for VKGUY benefits".

During April - September 2007, our exports are 57,157 tonnes valued at Rs1,097.06 crore with a unit value realization of Rs191.94 a kg. This was 58,210 tonnes valued at Rs1,222.93 crore with a unit value of Rs. 210.09 during the corresponding period in 2006. There is a decrease of 2 per cent in quantity, 10 per cent in value and 9 per cent in unit value.

Raw nut output

As per the estimate of the Directorate of Cashewnut and Cocoa Development (DCCD), the production of Raw Cashewnuts in India during 2006-07 was 6,20,000 tonnes as against 5,73,000 tonnes during 2005-06 and 5,44,000 tonnes during 2004-05. While as per installed capacity, the raw nut requirement of the cashew processing industry in India is estimated to be over 12 lakh tonnes a year, the availability from internal sources is about half of it.

He said that the relief on service tax given to the cashew industry did not cover most of the export-import related services availed by the cashew industry and there are certain difficulties in availing this benefit. The Council, he said, is taking up those problems with the Centre.

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