India: African cashew industry threat to Karnataka cashew market: Expert

MANGALORE: The African Cashew Alliance, an association of African and international businesses with an interest in promoting a globally competitive African cashew industry, is likely to pose a threat to the cashew industry in the state. For, African nations are encouraging their rapidly growing cashew industry.

Prakash Kalbavi, former president of Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers' Association (KCMA), says East and West Africa, supported by the African Cashew Alliance, has been committed to establishing cashew processing units in a big way. Already, huge plants with capacities of 15,000 to 20,000 metric tonnes (MT) per annum have come up in West Africa and the trend is very discouraging for us, he pointed out. "We are sure that at this rate, the industry will suffer a shortage of raw material and will die a natural death like two other traditional industries - beedi and tile,'' warns Kalbavi.

The growth in terms of export has been propelled by huge imports cashew manufacturers here are resorting to from East and West Africa, which is close to 1.25 lakh MT as against the requirement of 2 lakh MT. The cashew industry also sources over 40,000 MT from neighbouring states of Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra.

Kalbavi says the state's share in the national export of cashew was a meagre 6%, at about Rs 150 crore, seven to eight years ago. But today, it is at 40%, at Rs 1,000 crore. "Our contribution will amount to Rs 2,000 crore in five years if the industry gets the right impetus from the government. We can become the cashew state of this country if we can take our raw cashew production from the existing 40,000 MT to 2 lakh MT in the next seven to eight years," he contends.

The industry has urged the intervention of the state government. In a letter to K Rathna Prabha, additional chief secretary of the department of commerce and industry, manufacturers requested a meeting with all agencies concerned to bring out a cashew policy for the state, and also lay a roadmap to increase seed production and for sustainable growth.

- India Times