The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) considers cashew as one of the 25-star products and is working on branding and marketing it as a global product, says Parashram Patil, an Apeda board member. 

“Apeda is coming up with a branding campaign for Indian cashews, popularising its health benefit abroad,” he told businessline in an online interaction.

Apeda is also looking at a cluster-based approach for the development of the sector. It has identified Kollam in Kerala and Chandgad in Maharashtra to promote the concept. 

Apeda is also working with Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (State NITI Aayog) to facilitate cashew export from JSW Jaigarh port in Maharashtra and nearby States. 

Working with Maharashtra

Patil, who is also senior advisor-agriculture with Maharashtra Institution for Transformation, said Apeda will work with the Maharashtra State Cashew Board for the cashew sector development. He is also the director of the Maharashtra State Cashew Board. 

Apeda is looking at other cashew products such as shell cake or deoiled cashew shells, cashew apples and gum. The de-oiled cashew shell is the by-product of extracting cashew nut shell liquid. “Cashew apple, a rich source of Vitamin C and antioxidant, is made into pectin and juices, as well as alcoholic drinks, vinegar, syrups and jams. Cashew gum that comes out of the cashew tree’s bark, has many uses in the food industry and pharmaceuticals,” he said. 

During 2023-24 fiscal, 3,508 tonnes of cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) worth $1.93 million was exported to countries such as China, Vietnam, Mexico, South Korea and Japan. The country also exported 9,714 tonnes of cardanol, purified and distilled CNSL, with Vietnam, South Korea, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands being the main buyers.

Promotional schemes

Apeda has launched various promotional schemes to increase cashew exports. One is the financial assistance scheme (FAS), in place from FY22-26, which helps registered exporters under the Agriculture and Processed Food Export Promotion Scheme. 

It helps exporters with infrastructure development to take care of post-harvest, cold storage, grading, sorting and packaging, besides improving quality through the Quality Development programme. 

Other schemes are market development, a forum to identify and reach out to stakeholders, take part in global fairs and exhibitions and undergo training or undertake study tours, he said.  

While facilitating exports to traditional markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands and the US, Apeda is exploring new markets such as the UK, Spain, Kuwait and other European countries. 

Stating that there is an urgent need for exporters to upgrade machinery in the cashew sector, Patil said he hoped they will utilise Apeda’s financial scheme, under which 40 per cent of the machinery cost is subsidised with a cap of ₹2 crore.   

Falling from being No. 1

“This will bring in more efficiency, enhance their competitiveness and quality and help the industry achieve economies of scale,” he said, adding that after taking over from the Cashew Export Promotional Council of India, Apeda has again called on eligible units to apply for the scheme.  

“Apeda is reviewing all the proposals and cashew processing units will get the benefits soon,” he said. 

Pointing out that India at one point in time had an 80 per cent in the global export market, Patil said it has now declined to a meagre 8 per cent. 

“Cashew exports have fallen from $917 million in 2017-18 to $368 million in 2023-24. This is the fundamental cause that led this industry into crisis. India’s cashew production has grown from 4 lakh tonnes to 7 lakh tonnes over the past 25 years, during which the imports have risen from 4 lakh tonnes to 13 lakh tonnes,” he said. 

During this period, global production has increased from 10 lakh tonnes to 50 lakh tonnes, he said.

Currently, the cashew sector has been facing challenges such as lack of modernisation, rising labour costs, heavy dependency on imported raw materials, tough competition from Vietnam, lack of value addition and price fluctuations leading to dwindling exports. 

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