The Hindu Business Line : 4 cashew-based products launched

Announcing this at a press conference here on Saturday, Mr E. Kasim, Chairman, Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation Ltd (KCDC), said the company has ventured into producing value-added cashew products as there is a strong demand for such products in both domestic and international markets.

Much of the cashew exported from India is converted into value-added products abroad and sold at higher prices, he pointed out. The new products are also expected to help KCDC, which has approximately Rs 457 crore of accumulated losses, do better.

Revenue target

The company, which had a turnover of Rs 90 crore in the last fiscal, is targeting revenues of Rs 300 crore this financial year, said Dr K.A. Ratheesh, Managing Director, KCDC. The company expects to achieve its revenue target through better utilisation of the capacity in its 30 cashew factories and from the sale of its four new cashew-based products, he explained.

In fact, the company anticipates that its new value-added products alone will bring in revenues of Rs 100 crore this year, he added. The four new products are a cashew soup; ‘cashew vita’, a health drink; cashew powder for culinary use and; a masala cashew snack called ‘cashew bits’.

The products have been developed with assistance from the Mysore-based Central Food Technology Research Institute, Dr Ratheesh said.

The products vary in price from Rs 15 for a 40-gm pack of the masala cashew snack to Rs 40 for a 65-gm sachet of the cashew soup and Rs 98 for a 250- gm pack of the cashew health drink.

The company plans to distribute the new products across India and also in West Asia. Feedback on samples of the four products, including from a test marketing drive at the Dubai Shopping Festival, has been positive, he claimed.

Last year, KCDC received Rs 4 crore from the Government for maintenance of its factories and it hopes to receive a similar allocation this year. It has also recruited 6,000 new workers for its factories, Mr Kasim said.

The four new products will be produced at a new unit located in the company’s factory at Kottiyam near Kollam. The Kerala Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, will inaugurate the new unit on April 15, he added.

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