India: Cashew industry in a tight corner

The weakening rupee and short supply from major cashew-growing countries in Africa have pushed up the prices of the raw nuts imported by the Indian cashew-processing industry, sources in the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India here say.

The industry imported raw nuts at Rs.48 a kg in February, when 50,000 tonnes were so brought in, as against Rs.28 a kg between April 2007 and February 2008, sources say.

The unit value realisation for the kernels dropped in the international markets after shooting up to around Rs.380 a kg in mid-2008, in the wake of the ongoing economic recession, which started having an impact from September 2008.

The exports dropped during the current financial year, sources say.

Exports during April-February stood at 99,348 tonnes, valued at Rs.2,719,79 crore ($597.62 million), as against 1,03,139 tonnes, valued at Rs.2,033.18 crore ($505.14 million), in the corresponding period a year ago.

The average unit value realisation during the current fiscal has been Rs.273.76 a kg from the Rs.197.13 a year ago.

Shipments of cashew kernels in February 2009 were 7,968 tonnes from the 8,350 tonnes the corresponding month a year ago, a 4.2 per cent drop.

The unit value realisation dropped from Rs.297 a kg during the last quarter of 2008 to Rs.267 a kg in February this year.

Exports of cashew kernels have become unattractive as the cost of imported raw nuts has gone up. This has also raised the unit value realisation on exports.

Availability of indigenous raw nuts has been stagnant at around six lakh tonnes as against the 12 lakh tonnes the industry requires. The price of raw nuts in the country has gone up to Rs.50-52 a kg and even more in some areas.

The industry has been dependent on imports and unless sustained efforts are made to promote cultivation in wider areas, the prospects of the traditional industry of the State, which employs a large number of skilled workers, will continue to be in the doldrums, sources add.


Source: hindu.com

Publication date: 3/23/2009

Vietnam: Cashew industry faces difficulties

Vietnam earned 104 million USD from exporting 23,000 tonnes of cashew nuts in the first two months of the year, a rise of 6 percent in value and 12 percent in volume over the same period last year.

However, the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) warned cashew exporters of a difficult year as the demand is dropping in a number of major import markets such as the US, Europe and China, lowering the average export price to only 4,200 USD per tonne.

Additionally, total output of raw cashew is predicted to fall to 200,000-250,000 tonnes due to bad weather this year and this means cashew nut export volume will be down to 150,000 tonnes.

In 2008, Vietnam exported 167,000 tonnes of cashew nuts, grossing 920 million USD, becoming the world’s largest cashew nut exporter.


Source: english.vietnamnet.vn



Publication date: 3/24/2009

Vietnam: 10 percent drop in cashew exports forecast on lower demand

Vietnam, the world’s biggest cashew nut exporter, expects a 10 percent decline in overseas shipments this year because of lower demand amid the global recession.

Export of the nut, which accounted for 11 percent of total agricultural exports last year, may reach 150,000 tons in 2009, Nguyen Duc Thanh, president of the Vietnam Cashew Association, said in an interview last week in Ho Chi Minh City.

The cashew industry faces a “very difficult time,” Thanh said.

Orders in February have slid about 50 percent from a year earlier, and export prices may fall 30 percent this year, he said.

While low-quality cashews account for a large part of the country’s crops, customers have ordered mostly high-quality nuts in the first two months of this year, further damaging sales, an association report said.

To make things worse, 85 percent of the country’s 220 cashew processors are ineligible for loans under the government’s loan-subsidy program, Thanh said.


Source: thanhniennews.com

Publication date: 3/9/2009

India: Follow scientific methods, farmers told

Farmers should follow scientific methods for cashew cultivation to increase the yield and fetch more income, said Agriculture University Board of Regent Member S D Sampath Samrajya.

Speaking at the state-level training on cashew crop and Kshethrotsava, organised jointly by the Agriculture Research Centre (Kapikad), Cashew and Cocoa Development Directorate (Cochin), Agriculture Science Centre (Kankanady and Brahmavar), SKDRDP, Horticulture Department and Agriculture Department of Zilla Panchayat here on Monday, he said farmers can reap high yield by following the scientific methods of cultivation. By providing irrigation, one can increase the yield by 30 per cent.

The annual production of cashewnut in Karnataka is less compared to Kerala and Goa. The average production per hectare is 860 kg. However, by following scientific methods, one can get yield of 1,500 kg per hectare. Cashew is grown in 8.6 lakh hectare in the country and the annual production is 6.5 lakh tonne. There is an ample of opportunity for the cashew production in Karnataka. We are producing only 25 per cent of the requirement. Remaining 75 per cent is imported from other countries.

He said the production of cashewnuts should be increased to fetch more foreign exchange. Cashew earns 2000 crore foreign exchange.

Samrajya said in Karnataka cashew production is only 35,000 tonnes compared to its demand of 1,25,000 tonnes. Cashew processing units face shortage of labour, such units must make use of machinery.

Agriculture Research Station (Brahmavar) Assistant Research Director Dr T R Guruprasad said there is lack of information among the farmers on cashew. With less effort and less water, cashew can be grown scientifically.

Cashew is an important horticulture crop. Normally, one can reap 3 to 4 kg cashewnut per plant. However, the seeds developed by the Agriculture Research Centre (Ullal), the yield will be 15 kg per plant.

The annual production of cashewnut in the country is 6 lakh tonne. However, the demand is 15 lakh tonne, he added.

Exhibition

There was an exhibition of cashew juice making machine, cashewnut cutting machine on the occasion. The exhibition also had presentation on cashew production, methods of planting cashew saplings, how to get more yield. As many as 54 varieties of seeds and cashew fruits were on display for the public.

Horticulture College Director Dr J Venkatesh presided. Horticulture department Joint Director Dr Hema, Dr T C Narayana Swamy, Cashew Producers Association President Gopalakrishna Kamath and others were present.


Source: mangalorean.com

Publication date: 3/11/2009

India: Orissa cashew producers ask for facilities to boost export

Cashew producers and processors of Orissa, one of the largest cashew producing states in India, have asked for concrete steps and facilities to improve export of processed nuts from the state. Rajendra Sabat, president of Orissa Cashew Processors' Association, said that although Orissa was the third largest cashew producing and processing state in the country, after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, it has been unable to export abroad. Sabat, said, "If the government creates an environment to export cashew, not only the processors, but also the state could get the benefits."

According to the association, export was not possible due to lack of facilities for proper packaging of the product, robbing it off its export values. "Despite recession, cashew export touched Rs 2,507 crore by January. The major buyers of Indian cashew are the US, Netherlands, Japan and the UK with most of the cashews exported from Kerala and Tamil Nadu," Sabat added.

At present, there are about 240 cashew processing units which produce over 80,000 tonnes of cashew per annum. Most of the processing units are located in southern Orissa districts including Ganjam (80), Gajapati (58) and Koraput (48). Every year, the processing units remained idle for about 3-4 months due to shortage of raw material in the state.

According to state officials, the yield rate of cashew in the state is around 550 kg per hectare, compared to the national average of 650 to 700 kg per hectare. The cashew plantation was in about 1.60 lakh hectares in the state which is sufficient to cater to the need of the processing units, the yield suffered due to poor management of plants.

The association has asked the government to make the boiling processes of cashew for processing mandatory instead of the roasting process. "Several cashew producing states like Andhra Pradesh have already introduced the boiling process. The boiling process is cost-effective and non-polluting." The association also demanded simplification of rules and tax structure on processing units as a processing unit has to obtain a number of certificates.


Source: fnbnews.com

Publication date: 3/11/2009

India claims to be top cashew exporter

Cashew export figures emanating from Vietnam, quoting its Government and other sources, give the impression that it is the top exporter of cashew kernel in the world.

But Indian processors and exporters contest it and say they continue to occupy the top slot.

“They might have overtaken us in pepper but in cashew we still continue to enjoy our position as the top exporter of this tree nut,” said some of the major exporters in Kollam.

They said that the Indian cashew industry (in the organising sector) has the capacity to process around 12 lakh tonnes of raw nuts a year as against Vietnam’s six to seven lakh tonnes.

India imports around 5.5 lakh tonnes of raw cashew nuts a year, while the indigenous production of this raw material comes to about six lakh tonnes, they said.

Therefore, with the processing capacity of 6-7 lakh tonnes of raw nuts a year, it is quite unlikely for them to export 1.65 lakh- to 1.7 lakh tonnes of cashew kernels annually, they claimed.

A recent report quoting Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade sources said “Vietnam is expected to rake in $992 million from exporting 1.65 lakh tonnes of cashew nuts in 2008.

The figures will show a rise of 20.5 per cent in value despite a fall of 8.29 per cent in volume against 2007”.

Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) last week said “in Jan-Nov, the country is estimated to have exported 1.53 lakh tonnes of cashew nuts, earning $859 million, up 10.9 per cent on year in volume and 47 per cent in value, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO)”.

Meanwhile, another report quoting the Head of the Department of Farming, Forest and Fisheries Processing etc. under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said even though the value of cashew exports is expected to decline this year due to the global financial crisis, Vietnam “will export 1.7 lakh tonnes of cashews, worth $900 million, in 2009, 16 per cent lower in value than in 2008”.

Vietnam, according to the Vinacas, has 220 cashew processors with a total capacity of 6-7 lakh tonnes a year. The country exports to 78 markets, including Russia, the US, Japan, Germany, Australia, the UK, the EU and China.

Despite the increase in exports, the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) complained that local cashew nut processing and exporting companies are facing a lot of difficulties such as high lending rates and high import tax.

In January, cashew exporters shipped an estimated 12,000 tonnes, earning $55 million, said the department. Those figures were down 14.3 per cent in volume and 19 per cent in value compared to December 2008.

Nguyen Thai Hoc, Deputy Chairman of the association, was quoted as saying that exporters still had unsold stocks from 2008. The exporters have signed contracts to export 40-50 per cent of total processed cashew output, but there were few long-term contracts.

However, the Indian cashew industry does not seem to accept the export figures appeared in the reports and claimed that cashew kernel exports from Vietnam in 2008 were unlikely to have crossed 1.2 lakh tonnes. Their figures are of the calendar year while ours are for the financial year. But, it won’t make much difference, they said. In 2007-08, India exported 1,14,340 tonnes of cashew kernel (and 7,813 tonnes of cashew nut shell liquid), valued at Rs 2,300 crore ($572 million).

Exports during Apr – Jan 2008-09 were at 91,381 tonnes valued at Rs 2,507.08 crore at an average unit value of Rs 274.35 a kg as against 94,794 tonnes valued at Rs 1,850.71 crore at unit value realisation of Rs 195.23 a kg in the corresponding period last fiscal. Total imports of raw nuts during Apr–Jan 2008-09 stood at 5,39,184 tonnes valued at Rs 2,317.57 crore at an average unit value of Rs 42.98 a kg as against 5,10,434 tonnes worth Rs 1,358.38 crore at the unit value of Rs 26.61 a kg in the same period the previous year, Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPC) sources said.

Indian exporters claimed that India continued to occupy the top slot of exporters of cashew kernels in the world market. Vietnamese figures were on the higher side but, the Vietnam industry does not seem to have claimed as the top supplier of this tree nut in the world market like the way it projects itself as the largest producer and supplier of pepper in the world.


Source: sify.com

Publication date: 3/3/2009