The cashew market was quiet last week. Though there was not much change in prices, some stray business was done at slightly lower levels in some grades.

Offers were in the range of $3.65-3.85 for W240; $3.30-3.45 for W320; $3.15-3.25 for W450; $3.10-3.20 for SW320; $2.90-3.00 for SW360; $2.60-2.70 for SSW; $2.10-2.20 for splits and $1.75-1.85 for pieces.

There was some activity from Vietnam to China but for limited volumes of better quality wholes.

The domestic market was steady but activities were limited as Kerala remained closed for about a week.

Demand prospects

With the uncertainty on demand prospects, people seem to be willing to reduce volumes rather than be stuck with high price inventory. For some more time, this trend of short term position taking will not change and will keep the market volatile.

“This is a very dangerous situation as any change on demand or supply side could lead to sharp movement in price,” Pankaj N. Sampath, Mumbai-based major dealer told Business Line .

Rcn market

Mirroring the kernel market, the raw cashew nut (RCN) market has also been quiet except for stray trades for Indonesia RCN in the $1,325-1,375 a tonne range for quick shipments.

East Africa offers continued to be neglected and unless kernel activity picks up, it is unlikely that shellers will buy the low quality parcels at the current level, he said.

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