The arrival of a ship with raw cashew directly from Africa to the Kollam port on Sunday for the first time after a gap of 47 years has pepped up the cashew industry here. If the operation becomes regular, it will ensure appreciable cuts in cost of production for the industry which faces stiff competition in the international kernel markets.
Director of Ports P.I. Shiekh Pareeth said that 5,600 tonnes of raw cashew from the West African country of Guinea Bissau was brought as bulk cargo by a Singapore-based vessel to Kollam after a 35-day sail. The consignment is for various processors. Mr. Pareeth said a grace period of 20 days has been given to the processors to clear their consignments from the port. After the grace period rent will be charged.
He said it was sometime in 1968 that the last ship carrying raw cashew from Africa anchored off Kollam. In those days the cargo used to be ferried to the shore from the ship in small boats. But this is the first time a ship with raw cashew is anchoring at the wharf of the Kollam port.
Mr. Pareeth said arrangements are being made for ships to regularly call at the Kollam port with raw cashew from Africa. When the operations become regular it can even pave the way for export of kernels through Kollam port.
About 60 per cent of the 6 lakh tonnes of raw cashew annually imported into the country reaches Kollam and peripheral areas for processing. These imports are mainly through the Vallarpadam (earlier Kochi) and Tuticorin ports. These are brought by road from the two ports to the factories at Kollam.
The lorry freight charge for one container of cashew nut from the Kochi to Kollam was about Rs.12,000. At least 20,000 containers were brought annually to Kollam and the freight charges worked out to about Rs.24 crore a year. Similarly, 75 per cent of the more than 1 lakh tonnes of cashew kernel exported was from Kollam. The transport charges for that touched Rs.8 crore annually, the processors said.
