Cashew exports rise 34% till Feb

Cashew kernel exports from the country have shown a robust growth in the current financial year, thanks to a nearly 40 per cent jump in the unit value realisation and shortage in major producing countries such as Brazil, Vietnam and East African countries.

In value terms, cashew exports have registered a growth of 33.7 per cent to Rs 2,719.79 crore in the first 11 months ended February 2009, compared to the corresponding period last year. Going by the current indication, the country is likely to end the current financial year with the highest-ever export of close to Rs 3,000 crore. The previous best year for cashew exporters was 2004-05, when the exports had touched a high of Rs 2,709 crore.

However, in volume terms, the exports were marginally lower by 3.6 per cent to 99,348 tonnes, compared to the same period last financial year. India’s cashew exporters recorded a huge jump of 39 per cent in unit value realisation at Rs 274 a kg, compared to the same period last year.

Giridhar Prabhu, managing director, Achal Cashew, a Mangalore-based exporter and former vice-chairman of Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI), said, “The year 2008 was a watershed year when the ramp-up of supply over the years resulted in a marketing effort in all nations. Cashew consumption has hit all-time highs in Calendar year 2007 and was projected to repeat in 2008. A series of crop shortages in origins, starting from Brazil in the second half of 2007 to Indonesia, hit the sentiment as well as fundamentals. The world economy was buoyant and prices shot up beyond proportion. This has been reflected in the overall value increase.”

The country’s cashew processing units, mainly concentrated in Kerala, Karnataka and Goa, which are largely dependent on imports of raw cashew nut, imported 589,103 tonnes valued at Rs 2,557.49 crore, a marginal rise of 2.7 per cent in volume and 58.6 per cent in value terms respectively.

The unit value of raw cashew nut imported went up by a whopping 54.3 per cent to Rs 43.41 a kg, compared to the same period last year.

In the international market, the prices of cashew kernel (W320 grade) had hit an all-time high of $3.65 a pound in August this year, compared to $2.15 a pound in September 2007, a rise of 69.7 per cent.

“The year 2008 was good in consumption terms. The beginning of recessionary effects since October 2008 have created a new situation in fundamentals. In the light of ensuing crops in different origins, it is difficult to say how much supply will emerge in 2008,” Prabhu added.

The cashew processing industry has been witnessing an unprecedented growth in the sales in the domestic market as the consumption is steadily rising. The prices have hit an all-time high of Rs 350-400 a kg in the wholesale market, while the retail prices are ruling at over Rs 550 a kg.