The Hindu Business Line : H1 cashew exports down

During April - September 2006 the total exports stood at 58,210 tonne valued at Rs 1,222.93 crore as against 59,112 tonne worth Rs 1,331.41 crore in the same period last year, registering a fall of 1.53 per cent in quantity and 8.15 per cent in value. The unit value has dropped by 6.72 per cent.

Addressing the 51st Annual General Meeting of the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India, held here on Tuesday its Chairman, Mr Walter D'Souza, said exports had registered positive growth in September with 7,228 tonnes valued at Rs152.31 crore as against 6,373 tonnes valued at Rs139.78 crore for September 2005. "It is expected that this trend will continue during the second half of this financial year, which can effectively make good for the decrease in exports during the first five months of the current financial year."

The US continued to be the major buyer of cashew kernels in 2005-06 with the country importing 43,149 tonnes valued at Rs 958.33 crore accounting for 37.80 per cent of the exports in volume and 38.11 per cent in value. The Netherlands was the second largest importer of cashew kernels from India, he said.

Export of cashew kernels during 2005-06 stood at 1,14,143 tonnes valued at Rs 2,514.86 crore as against 1,26,667 tonnes worth Rs 2,709.24 crore in 2004-05. He attributed the drop last fiscal partially to the sudden withdrawal of Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana (VKUY) scheme from April 27, 2005.

Import of raw cashew nuts declined during 2005-06 to 5,65,400 tonnes valued at Rs 2,162.95 crore from 5,78,884 tonnes valued at Rs 2,190.94 crore in the previous fiscal.

According to him, the raw cashew nut production in the country stood at 5.73 lakh tonnes last fiscal as against 5.44 lakh tonnes in 2004-05 and 5.35 lakh tonnes the year before. As per the installed capacity, the raw nut requirement of the cashew processing industry in the country is estimated at over 12 lakh tonnes per year while the availability from internal sources is less than half of it.

In spite of all efforts, the industry could not find adequate raw cashew nuts indigenously 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.

"This points to the need for increasing the indigenous production of raw cashew nuts to make the country self-sufficient." Schemes may be put forward to increase the productivity in India on par with Vietnam, which has reportedly 2,000 kg a hectare as against India's 815 kg/ha, he said.

The AGM re-elected Mr Walter D'Souza, Managing Partner, M/s Fernandes Brothers, Mangalore, as Chairman and Mr Babu Oommen, Proprietor, M/s Alphonsa Cashew Industries, Kollam, as Vice-Chairman of the Council.

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