The cashew market turned a little buoyant last week, resulting in a firm trend. Some business took place for W240 and W320 near the higher end of the price range seen in the last few weeks, trade sources said. Very cheap offers seen in the first half of March are no longer available, especially for wholes, they said.

The range this week was W240 from $3.65 to $3.80; W320 from $3.25 to $3.35; W450 from $3.00 to $3.15; SW320 from $3.10 to $3.20; Butts from $2.35 to $2.40; Splits from $2.25 to $2.35 and pieces from $1.90 to $2.05 a pound (f.o.b).

Reports of lower offtake by US/European retailers in the last two quarters imply that inventories in the US and Europe are comfortable. The low volume of buying for second quarter deliveries could mean tightness of kernel availability by the middle of the year.

“We strongly feel that even if the West African crops finally turn out to be normal, there is potential for shortage of kernels in the next 2-3 months being aggravated, as processing in the next 6-8 weeks in India and Vietnam is expected to be reduced due to lower than normal arrivals of raw cashew nut (RCN) from Africa in this period,” Mr Pankaj N. Sampat, a Mumbai-based dealer told Business Line.

In the first quarter of the year, he said that buyers have been slow in buying because of the lower volumes contracted by retailers due to high prices. On the other side, shellers have been reluctant to take any big positions for forwards on uncertainty about RCN pricing. There should be reasonably clarity on these factors by middle of the year.

RCN steady

The RCN market was steady with a firm undertone. Prices in India, Vietnam, Tanzania continued to be above $1,250 a tonne. There are offers and some stray trades for Benin at around $1,000, Ivory Coast (IVC) at around $875 and Nigeria at around $775 a tonne. Shellers are not rushing to buy at these prices as kernel demand is slow.

RCN traders are not showing signs of reducing prices asarrivals are slow.

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