Cashew output doubles in 2 decades, but yield up only 20%

KOCHI, APRIL 11: 

Though raw cashew nut production has more than doubled in the last two decades, poor yield is still a cause for concern compared to competitors such as Vietnam.

According to official estimates, raw cashew output in 2012-13 is about 7.3 lakh tonnes (lt) from an area of over 9.8 lakh hectares. This is against 3.48 lt from 5.65 lakh hectares in 1993-94 and 5 lt from 7.7 lakh hectares in 2002-03.

Concerted efforts by the Directorate of Cashew and Cocoa Development coupled with that of National and State Horticulture Missions have resulted in the growth.

However, compared to other global producers such as Vietnam the yield per hectare is less, official sources told Business Line. Vietnam, of late, has emerged as the top producer of the commodity displacing India.

Total raw cashew production in Vietnam in 1993 was 1.86 lt from 69,100 hectares. It shot up to 12.73 lt from a total area of 3.31 lakh hectares in 2011, according to the latest FAO statistics.

The yield from a hectare is currently 3.8 tonnes in Vietnam against India's 772 kg.

OLD PLANTATIONS

Official sources attributed the low productivity in India to old plantations.

“Most of the cashew plantations in India are senile requiring replanting with high yielding varieties. At the same time, more areas, mainly waste lands lying idle in many States, could be easily brought under cashew by motivating farmers. Timely supply of planting materials, finance and extension services are vital apart from ensuring a remunerative price for the raw nuts,” Dr Abdul Salam, Vice-Chancellor, Calicut University and who had made significant contributions to the development of the crop for over two decades told Business Line.

PROCESSING, EXPORTING

Cashew processing facilities could process around two million tonnes of raw cashew nuts but the availability of the domestic raw material is limited to nearly one-third of the requirement.

Therefore, the processing-exporting industry has to depend on imported raw nuts for decades. In fact, an equal volume or more of what is produced here is imported every year to keep the factories running as the growth in production of raw nuts does not correspond with the growth in the industry's requirements, said industry sources from Kollam.

Imports of raw nuts decreased during April-November 2012 to 6,11,481 tonnes valued at Rs 3,665.54 crore from 6,94,188 tonnes valued at Rs 4,511.19 crore in the same period a year ago, Cashew Export Promotion Council of India said.

It attributed the decline in imports, despite a drop in the unit value to Rs 59.95 a kg from Rs 64.99, to weak demand for cashew kernels from overseas markets

Exports during the same period stood at 60,585 tonnes valued at Rs 2,477.42 crore (74,093 tonnes valued at Rs 3,002.34 crore). During the first eight months of the current financial year, the average unit value showed a marginal increase to Rs 408.92 a kg from Rs 405.21 in the same period last year, they said.

In fact, India has 24 per cent of the global area under cashew and yet the country contributes only 19 per cent of the global production. Vietnam, on the other hand, contributes a significantly higher share of the world production with 10 per cent of the global area under the tree crop.

Source: Business Line