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The cashew exports during April 2017-January 2018 have shown an increase of 9 per cent over that of the corresponding period the previous fiscal.
Total shipments in April-January stood at 73,810 tonnes valued at ₹5,131.73 crore as against 67,742 tonnes worth ₹4,179.72 crore in the same period in 2016-17. The average unit value also rose to ₹695.26 a kg from ₹617.01.
At the same time, the high prices of the Raw Cashew Nut (RCN) in the producing countries have reduced imports of the raw material during the period under report by 11 per cent, S Kannan, Executive Director and Secretary, Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI), told BusinessLine.
Total RCN imports during April-January 2018 were at 5,86,663 tonnes valued at ₹7,931.29 crore at the unit value of ₹135.19 a kg as against 6,58,461 tonnes valued at ₹7,338.69 crore at the unit value of ₹111.45, he said.
Strong global demand coupled with compulsion on the part of the exporters who have availed advance authorisation to discharge their export obligation to ship out before January 31 has raised the total exports during the period, he said. Meanwhile, in the world market “W320 was trading, of late, in the range of $4.50-4.75 per lb (fob). Not much activity is seen as the buyers are covering only limited quantities as and when required,” said Pankaj N Sampat, a Mumbai-based dealer.
Prices for all whole grades have come down by about 5 per cent the same as W320. However, not much change in price was seen for broken grades because of demand, he said.
Unprecedented rise in RCN price coupled with high processing cost has steered the industry into dire straits. As a result, nearly 50 per cent of the factories remain closed for about 18 months now, Kannan said. One of the solutions to this predicament is to raise the production of raw cashew nuts indigenously, he added.
According to senior sources at the Directorate of Cashew and Cocoa Development (DCCD) under the Union Ministry of Agriculture, the raw nut production in 2016-17 increased to 7,79,335 tonnes from 6,92,000 tonnes in 2011-12. The area under the crop has expanded to 10,40,890 hectares from 9,81,000 hectares during the period.
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