The Hindu Business Line : Centre can’t go back on setting up of cashew board: Minister

There should not be any hurdles in setting up the board as it is unlikely to create any additional financial burden on the Centre. — Mr P.K. Gurudasan, Kerala Minister for Labour and Cashew Industry

G.K. Nair

Kochi, Nov. 9

The Union Government cannot go back on its decision to create a cashew development board for the overall development of the cashew industry including its cultivation in the country, according to the Kerala Minister for Labour and Cashew Industry, Mr P.K. Gurudasan.

Speaking to Business Line, the Minister said the Union Commerce Minister had taken the decision to create a cashew development board. The only decision pending was about fixing of its headquarters and since Kollam has been declared by the Union Government as the “Town of Export Excellence”, the priority goes to the cashew capital of the country, he said.

According to him, there should not be any hurdles in setting up the board as it is unlikely to create any additional financial burden on the Centre. “Mr Kamal Nath has been repeatedly assuring us of creation of the board”. Brushing aside the media reports that the Union Agricultural Ministry has turned down the proposal, Mr Gurudasan said the Ministry should not worry over its creation as it would not in anyway curtail its role and importance as far as cashew cultivation is concerned, he pointed out.

Seeks PM intervention

He said the Union Defence Minister, Mr A.K. Antony, had agreed to take up this issue with the Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh. Besides, the Kerala Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, has submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister. All the trade unions in the State also submitted a memorandum to Mr Singh seeking his immediate intervention, he said.

The Union Agricultural Ministry, in response to the draft proposal sent by the Commerce Ministry for setting up of a cashew development board to solicit its comments before submitting it to the CCEA, is reported to have responded negatively. The proposal covers all the aspects such as financial implications, establishment cost, annual cost, development schemes implementation etc.

“The Central Government cannot go back on this. It is a Rs 6,000-crore industry which includes export earnings of over Rs 2,500 crore a year. Above all, it is a traditional industry providing employment to around 3.5 lakh people of whom almost 98 per cent is women”, Mr Gurudasan pointed out.

Advantages

A cashew board can function as a coordinator in implementing various schemes/ programmes for cultivation aimed at increasing production of raw nuts, processing, value addition, marketing etc. Vast expanses of waste lands throughout the country could also be commercially utilised besides creating green belts. Even it could be planted on the coast line to arrest sea erosion. The State Government has planted 1,000 plants along the coast in Mararikulam in Kerala’s Alapuzha district, he said.

Recommendations

In fact, the necessity of having such a body on similar lines of the other commodity boards such as the Rubber Board/Spices Board was felt long back from 1960s, he said. Department related Standing Parliamentary Committees on Commerce in their 42nd, 46th, 50th, 58th, 65th ,70th and 77th reports recommended formation of a cashew board. Others who had made such recommendations are Department related Standing Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture; Raw nut Committee of Ministry of Commerce in 1960s; Indian Cashew nut Development Council (ICDC) in 1966–1986.

Besides, the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in its study report on Indian cashew industry conducted, as part of World Bank aided multi-state cashew project (MSCP), during 1981-86 also recommended the setting up of the board. The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, has also recommended in its report evaluation of centrally sponsored cashew development programmes, he said.

The processing capacity of the Indian cashew industry, currently, is 1.2 million tonnes of raw nuts and almost 50 per cent of it is imported mainly from Africa. Vietnam was a major source for raw nuts but with the setting up of processing units there not only supply has been stopped but it has become a major competitor of India in the world market.