After a record export of almost Rs 5,000 crore last year, cashew exporters are finding the going tough this year with exports yet to pick up and prices of imported raw cashew ruling high.
Cashew exports have dropped 15% in quantity and 6 % in value for three months ended June 2014 at 25,305 tonne valued at Rs 1,106 crore. India has been out priced by Vietnam in the international market.
This may not be too much of a worry for the exporters right now. What is bothering them is that the during the same three months last year, the raw cashew imports went up 53% to Rs 1,825 crore. In terms of quantity, it was higher by 28% at 2,78,365 tonne.
"Raw cashew nut prices are hovering around $1,300 per tonne. Except for a brief period, the prices of raw nut bought from Ghana and Ivory Coast have remained above $1,000," said Babu Oommen, Chairman of Alphonsa Cashew Industries. At the end of last year, the raw nuts from Tanzania and Mozambique had burned a hole in their pocket at $1,400 per tonne.
The exporters expected the prices to ease when the production from west Africa came into full swing. An export price in the range of $3.50 to 3.75 per pound would justify the high import price, they feel. But the reality is that cur rent Indian prices are around $3.20 per pound. India's cashewnut production Development for 2013-14 is estimated at 7,36,000 tonne by Directorate of Cashew nut and Cocoa. The raw nut import came to over 7,50,000 tonne last year.
"The export is almost entirely dependent on imports. The domestic production mainly goes for processing for the local market," Babu Oommen said.
The Economic Times, 25 July 2014
More news
Alphonsa Cashew Industries has been distinguished with the Commendation Certificate for Strong Commitment to Sector Specific Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) at the 14th CII Food Safety Awards 2023, underlining its steadfast dedication to exceptional food safety standards within the Nuts and Seeds category.
Alphonsa Cashew Industries, a leading player in the Indian cashew industry, has set a new precedent by achieving the esteemed AEO T3, the highest tier of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program. This milestone marks Alphonsa as one of the first food producers in India, and the very first in Kerala, to earn this significant accolade.
Alphonsa Cashew Industries is pleased to announce its membership in INC, the International Nut & Dried Fruit Council. This membership is inline with our objective of reaching beyond our internal boundaries to a variety of external stakeholders for embedding sustainability principles into our business core.
Alphonsa Cashew Industries received its Halal certification from Halal India, one of India’s most discerning organisations dedicated to upholding halal practices.
Alphonsa Cashew Industries has released its 2020 Sustainability Report showcasing significant progress and performance indicators across the sustainability pillars and reaffirming the company’s commitment to build a sustainable and responsible cashew value chain.
With the rapid rise of food safety requirements around the world, Alphonsa is investing in a new Pasteurisation and Packing Complex to stay ahead of the regulations and its customer’s aspirations. Construction of the complex has already begun and is scheduled to be functional by January 2021.
As part of Alphonsa’s commitment to resource conservation, we worked with our paper and packaging suppliers to address the impact of our use of paper for packaging. As a result of our commitment, 100% percent of the paper used in Alphonsa’s paper packaging now comes from FSC Chain-of-Custody Certified Suppliers.
Anacardic acid (AA), a compound extracted from cashew nut liquid, exhibits numerous pharmacological activities. The aim of the current investigation was to assess the anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and antioxidant activities of AA in mouse models.
Government of Kerala has marked regions where our Processing Facilities are located as Red Zone thereby prohibiting all factory activities until further notice. Therefore, we are shutting down all factories in Kerala with immediate effect to help contain the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 and in the interest of the safety and wellbeing of our people.
As the cases of COVID-19 increases in the location where our processing facilities are located, we are initiating voluntary staggered production process in the interest of the safety and wellbeing of our people and the wider community where we operate.