European buying holds cashew steady

KOCHI, JAN. 22:

Cashew market was steady last week with a firm undertone following some moderate buying interest from Europe and several other markets.

However, the US continued to remain quiet. Activity was limited to a few grades.

The domestic market was reasonably active but there was no change in prices due to the flow of imported kernels.

There was not much change in prices but for white wholes, there were very few offers at the lower end of the range. Price range this week was W240 $3.85-3.95, W320 $3.35-3.40, W450 around $3.15, SW320 around $3.10, SW360 $2.80-2.90, splits $2.10-2.20, pieces $1.40-1.50 an lb (fob). There was very little activity in the raw cashew nut (RCN) market. Prices were steady in the range of $1,325-1,350 a tonne for Tanzania $900-1,000 a tonne for Mozambique and $850-1,050 for 2012 crop West African.

There have been some major changes in the last couple of years in the cashew sector, Pankaj N. Sampat, a Mumbai-based dealer told Business Line.

High volatility in 2011 disrupted sales plans apart from financial losses to all links in the chain. Changes in buying pattern meant that despite adequate RCN availability, there were many periods in 2011 and 2012 when kernel supplies were tight leading to lost sales volume. Hopefully, recent history of 12 months of relative stability and prospects of trading in narrow range for coming months will result in some revival of confidence.

Differentials for lower grades have increased from 50-60 cents/lb to over $1.25, he said. This has impacted shellers realisation per tonne of RCN.

On the supply side, by late February/March “we will start getting some indications of crop size plus quality plus price levels for northern hemisphere crops, but trend will be established only in April. Until then, most of the activity will be on feelings or expectations,” he said.

On the demand side, the general feeling is that retail offtake in the last few months was reasonable.

Source: Business Line