| With traders from Kerala keeping away from the Palasa cashew market, the largest cashew market in the state, the cashew kernel prices have dipped by Rs 10-15 per kg over the last one week.
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| Currently, imported cashew nuts are available at cheaper prices. So Kerala traders have stopped buying both nuts and kernels at Palasa, S Murali Krishna, secretary, Palasa Cashew Manufacturers Association, told Business Standard.
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| Normally, Kerala traders purchase about 25 per cent of Palasa’s kernel production and after processing at Kerala, export it to other countries.
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| The initial purchase of cashew nuts in this coastal belt by Kerala traders raised the nut price to around Rs 3,500 per bag (each bag contains 80 kg) as against around Rs 2,700 during the last cashew season, B Narayana Rao, former president, Palasa Cashew Manufacturers Association, told Business Standard.
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| According to traders, the Palasa cashew market is now sluggish. This is mainly due to rise in the nut price to around 3,500 per bag, and at the same time dip in the kernel prices from an average Rs 215 to Rs 205 on first grade quality and from Rs 210 to Rs 195 per kg on other grade qualities.
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| Apart from this, the yield also dropped by a kg on each bag of nuts. Initially, crop yield was about 21 kg of kernels on each bag of nuts but now, it has come down to 20 kg. The margin on each bag on nuts was less by Rs 400, Rao said.
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| In the last 35 days, Palasa manufacturers roasted around 44,000 bags of nuts and stocked about one lakh bags of nuts for future needs. Normally, about three lakh bags of nuts are purchased by Palasa traders. The nut stocks last up to June-July.
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| This year, Palasa cashew season started from the April 16 instead of April 1, due to ambiguity in VAT system. |
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