Cashew trade threatened by political crisis in Ivory Coast

Kochi: Delay and uncertainty in the supply of raw cashew nuts from Ivory Coast due to political unrest is causing major concerns for the cashew trade.

Ivory Coast is major supplier of quality raw cashew to India and produces nearly 4 lakh tonne of raw nuts annually. The situation is compounded by the delay in arrival of raw nuts in India and Vietnam due to erratic rains.

Indian cashew production, which accounts for more than a fifth of the global production, is slated to come down during 2010-11 due to atypical rains and erratic temperature in the producing region, officials of the Kochi-based Directorate of Cashew and Cocoa Development (DACCD) said.

The cashew crop for 2011 is likely to b delayed by more than a month due to slower and fewer flowering, DACCD sources said. “Normally the Kerala crop comes to the market by February. So far we have not seen any arrivals of Kerala crop,” Pratap Nair of Vijayalakshmi Cashews said.

According to the data provided by the agency, Indian production during 2009-10 stood at 6.13 lakh tonne. During 2008-09 it was around 6.95 lakh tonne and 6.6 lakh tonne in 2007-08. India has to import more than half of its requirement of raw cashew due to the poor production.

“Unseasonal rains in Vietnam are also causing concerns. Drying is a problem and this will affect kernel yield. Crop size may also be lower if rains do not stop,” Pankaj Sampat of Samsons Trading told FE and added that it this could lead to squeeze in kernel supplies in the second quarter. India and Vietnam account for more than 50 % of the global cashew production.

“Political unrest in Ivory Coast is a major problem for India as it sources a large chunk of its requirement from the country,” Pratap Nair said. “Banks and borders are closed in Ivory Coast. Ships are not docking in the ports,”he said.

Raw cashew nuts pipeline is empty and until the gap is bridged, raw nut prices are unlikely to ease, Pankaj said.

“Shipments from Nigeria and Benin have started. Ghana and Ivory Coast shipments are expected to start soon. Shellers hope that shipments will pick up in April and provide relief from the tight supply,” he added.

Pratap feels that the demand is still robust and not affected by problems in Japan. “There is some disruption in West Asia .The effects of increased raw kernel prices in US and Europe will only be known after March,” he added.

(Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/cashew-trade-threatened-by-political-crisis-in-ivory-coast/768547/0)