Cashew growers to form global body

India, Vietnam and Brazil, the world's top three cashew producers, have come together to form a global alliance for promotion of cashew production, consumption, standardisation of cashew kernel grades, research and development, and validation of quality.

These countries are currently in the process of working out the structure of the organisation, which is expected to take a formal shape by July this year.

During the International Tree Nut Convention held in Montreal, Canada, in May last year, Antonio Jose Carvalho, president of Sindicaju, Brazilian cashew association, had informally agreed to work with Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI), and authorised its chairman Walter D'Souza to initiate talks with Vietnam.

Vietnam extended its support for the cause last week, when CEPCI-led trade delegation visited the country. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed by D'Souza with Pham Van Bien, president, Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS), in Ho Chi Minh City on January 25, 2007.

The bilateral MoU will be sent to Sindicaju for its formal endorsement and a tripartite MoU is expected to be signed by the heads of the three organisations in Florida, USA, in April this year.

Walter D'Souza said: "There is a need to form a global association to protect the interests of cashew growers, processors and exporters. Cashew is the only commodity which does not have a global body to protect its interests." The three nations have also agreed to set up a corpus of $5 million to promote the cause of cashew industry globally.

The proposed global body, the name for which is being worked out, will make an attempt to bring the cashew producing nations under a common umbrella and promote their interests globally, said D'Souza.

"We also want to remove certain myths associated with cashew. For example, people in Korea believe that eating cashew will lead to rashes and in India, it is believed that cashew increase cholesterol in the body. But, cashew is actually a zero-cholesterol commodity. We are planning to certify these facts through international accreditation agencies and qualified doctors," D'Souza said.

He said the proposed body will also work towards increasing the global raw cashew nut production from the present 1.7 million tonne per annum to 3 million tonne by 2020. An effort will also be made to increase per capita consumption in India, and other markets.