The decline in demand for broken grade of cashew has become a cause for concern for cashew manufacturers in Karnataka. The broken grade of cashew constitutes a major part of the cashew production of many firms in the state.

Subraya Pai, President of Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers’ Association (KCMA), told Business Line that the broken pieces grade of cashew constitutes around 40 per cent of production in the state. This is a big concern for the industry as there are few takers for broken pieces grade of cashew, he said.

K Prakash Rao, partner in Mangaluru-based Kalbavi Cashews, told BusinessLine that there was good demand for these broken varieties from the sweetmeat industry and in the hotels, restaurants and catering (HoReCa) segment prior to the lockdown.

Due to the large-scale cut in events such as marriages and festivals now, the demand for broken cashew has come down. Consumption in the HoReCa segment has literally come to a standstill, he said, adding that it is severely hitting the profitability and sustenance of the activity.

In fact, many firms are now planning to shut down temporarily due to huge piled up stocks of broken varieties of cashew and loss of value in that segment.

“We are hoping that with the commencement of the festival season with Raksha Bandhan on August 3, this segment will open up and bring some cheer to the manufacturers,” he said.

E-commerce up

Subraya Pai said the manufacturers are doing well in the e-commerce segment.

Prakash Rao said that the demand for cashew in the e-commerce segment has grown by 100 per cent over the last three months, and this is a major positive for the industry. Consumers have now resolved not to venture out to the markets and risk the chances of getting infected by Covid-19.

He said the cashew manufacturing industry will now have to reorient its sales, with e-commerce as the focus.

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