Demand remained steady in the world cashew markets despite high prices, and reasonable volumes are being traded every few weeks, according to market sources.

“This phenomenon is keeping the market steady within a range. Even now despite the relative quietness, there is some business being done for October-December shipments,” Pankaj N Sampat, a Mumbai-based dealer told BusinessLine .

Whether this buying is to fulfil old commitments or roasters are able to make new sales with current prices is not yet clear, he said.

Indian domestic demand has been slow for the past several weeks. In May and June, wholesalers were not building up stocks as GST came into effect on July 1. High prices in May/June were an additional reason for not building up inventory.

In July/August, people are getting rid of old stocks besides acquainting themselves with the new tax system. Indian festivals start from August with the peak in mid-October. Therefore, some idea about how the market is going to react to the high prices would emerge by end August/early September, he said.

Current offers are in a wide range viz., W240 from $5.10 to $5.30, W320 from $4.85 to $5.15, W450 from $4.80 to $5.00, Splits from $4.35 to $4.60, LP from $3.75 to $3.95 per lb (fob).

Indian exports rose 24 per cent in the April-June period from the corresponding period last fiscal year in spite of the high prices.

Total shipments stood at 22,985 tonnes valued at ₹1,562.92 crore as against 18,478 tonnes valued at ₹1,029.36 crore.

The average unit value has soared by 22 per cent to ₹679.97 a kg from 557.07 a kg in April-June 2016, S Kannan, Executive Director and Secretary, Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) told BusinessLine .

According to Sampat, the price decline has been mainly in W240 and W320 grades from small and medium processors. Broken grades, on the other hand, have moved up and continued to stay firm.

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