Cashew exporters are opposing the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) order for categorising raw cashew nuts under “Food Not Specified” and have demanded that the edible nut be treated as an industrial raw material.

FSSAI has placed raw cashew nuts under “Food Not Specified” category in January this year and according to exporters, it is posing difficulties in sampling and testing of imported raw cashew nuts. Besides, the order is creating additional delays for cargo clearance in ports, forcing importers to pay detention charges at a time when shipping lines are taking short time for cargo clearance due to container shortage.

G.Giridhar Prabhu, Executive Chairman of the Mangalore based Achal Industries Pvt Ltd - a manufacturer and exporter of cashew kernels, said the present FSSAI order would pose difficulties in doing business as identification of individual bags are not easy in bulk commodities. The order is purportedly to control contaminants, toxins and residues that are defined as heavy metals such as lead, copper, zinc and cadmium etc. But these are ordinarily found in food items and not in agri produce such as raw cashew imports.

Imported raw cashew nuts have been exempted from FSSAI clearance in 2017 on the basis of the representation submitted by the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India. However, exporters pointed out that the present order would affect the smooth functioning of many cashew processing units when the industry faces stiff competition from Vietnam - the largest exporter of cashew kernels.

Exporters, who are also members of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, have approached the Director-General and CEO of the organisation to take up the issue with the Health and Family Ministry to treat raw cashew nut as an industrial raw material and impress upon the port managements in Cochin, Tuticorin and Visakhapatnam to maintain status quo on the matter.

J.Rajmohan Pillai, Chairman, Beta Group which owns the brand Nut King, said delays in testing and sampling is taking more than five days, disrupting the export schedules. In addition, authorities are demanding the labelling of the bags, resulting in additional costs. However, such requirements are not needed for raw nuts being imported to competing countries such as Vietnam. Hence, even raw nut suppliers would prefer to sell their cargo to countries where there are no such complications.

The FSSAI order would have a far-reaching impact on the cashew industry which is recouping from the crippling effects of Covid-19, he said.

The Mangalore Customs authorities have responded positively to the request from the cashew industry in Karnataka and have decided to maintain a status quo on the matter, especially for firms that have been involved in the industry for a long time and have a good track record, he said.

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