Activities in the cashew market for most of May were limited. However, during the middle of the month, some processors, mainly from Vietnam and some from India, reduced prices significantly.
Reasonable volume was traded for June-July shipments at $3.70-3.80 for W240 and $3.15-3.25 for W320. China is reported to have bought reasonable quantities in Vietnam, trade sources in Mumbai said. After the decline in middle of May, kernel prices have stabilised and the undertone is steady. Last week, prices were W240: $3.75-3.85; W320: $3.20-3.40; W450: $3.00-3.10; SW320: $2.90-3.00; SW360: $2.80-2,90; Butts: $2.30-2.40; Splits: $2.20-2.30 and Pieces: $1.50-1.60 a lb (f.o.b.).
At the International Nut Council recently in Barcelona, the mood of the cashew sector was ‘cautious optimism’.
There are indications of slight revival in retail off take in the US and the EU in the last few weeks, Pankaj N. Sampat, a dealer, told Business Line .
Raw cashew nuts (RCN) prices have also come off in May due to lack of buying interest from shellers and coupled with funding constraints and lower quality of RCN. Current prices are $700-750 a tonne for Ivory Coast (IVC) and $900-950 for Bissau/Senegal/Gambia. “We expect that market will continue to move in the current $3.20-3.40 range for the next month or two”.