The shipment of cashew kernel touched 11,044 tonnes valued at Rs 607 crore for two months ended May this fiscal. As per the estimates of the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI), the value dropped by 19%, while the quantity plunged by 28% from a year ago. The decline in volumes is as much as 35% for the month of May alone.
The exporters attribute this to the mounting cost of raw nuts imported from West Africa. The costly raw nuts have led to the closure of almost 90% of the cashew factories in Kerala, which are more dependent on exports.
India imports over 60% of its raw cashew requirement for processing. In 2015-16, mounting prices and shortage of raw nuts led to decline in cashew exports by 21% in quantity and 11 % in value at 94,150 tonnes valued at Rs 4,850 crore as compared with the previous year.