Foreign exchange earned by the country through export of cashew kernels during 2011-12 touched Rs.4,390 crore as per statistics provided by the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI). Industry sources termed it a ‘big jump’ with respect to the Rs.2,819 crore earned from kernel exports during 2010-11.
The country exported 1.31 lakh tonnes of kernel during 2011-12 compared to 1.05 lakh tonnes during 2010-11. The U.S. continued to be the biggest importer of cashew kernel from India.
While the U.S. imported 35,236 tonnes of kernel (from India) during 2010-11, it swelled to 47,611 tonnes during 2011-12. In value terms, it was Rs.911.31 crore and Rs.1,470.47 core respectively.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) stood second in kernel import with 14,173 tonnes during 2011-12. The figure was 12,295 tonnes during 2010-11. In terms of value it was Rs.393.31 crore and Rs.606.11 crore respectively.
The Netherlands was in the third position with 11,517 tonnes last year compared to 11,178 tonnes during 2010-11. In terms of value it was Rs.365.57 crore and Rs.289.02 crore respectively. From Japan and Saudi Arabia, the country earned an equivalent of Rs.237.45 crore and Rs.207.01 crore respectively through the export of kernel last year.
Exports to the United Kingdom also registered a significant increase last year. The figure touched 3,717 tonnes compared to 2,798 tonnes the previous year. In terms of value it was Rs.109.45 crore and Rs.71.76 crore respectively.
Other major importers were Spain, Germany, Belgium, Singapore, Italy, Greece, Australia, Kuwait, Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Canada, Thailand, Russia, Norway, Syria, and Hong Kong.
The country also earned an equivalent of Rs.59.46 core through the export of cashew shell liquid during 2011-12. The earnings through the export of this commodity during 2010-11 was Rs.33.77 crore. The U.S. was the biggest importer of shell liquid in the last two years. China remained in the second position.
Marginal rise
Staff Reporter adds from Kochi: Earnings from export of cashew kernel went up marginally during the first quarter of the current financial year to touch Rs.1,005 crore. Earnings during April-June 2011 were Rs.938 crore.
The rise in Rupee terms was seven per cent. In terms of volume, it went down marginally by 2.2 per cent during the first quarter compared to the same period during the last financial year.
A report released by CEPCI said the total volume of export came down to 24,405 tonnes during April-June this year compared to the 24,959 tonnes during the same period last year.
The volume of kernel export in June this year was lower at 8,038 tonnes compared to the same month last year when the volume was 8,417 tonnes. However, earnings increased from Rs.331 crore to Rs.353 crore.
Import of raw cashew was in tandem with the export figures with the volume of imports coming down to 1.94 lakh tonnes during the first three months of the current year compared to the volume of 1.95 lakh tonnes during the same period in 2011.
Figures from CEPCI also showed that the per-unit cost of imported cashew came down from Rs.65.16 a kg during April-June 2011 to Rs.60.14 during the same period in 2011. This is in contrast to the rise in per-unit cost of exported kernel from Rs.375.90 a kg during the April-June period in 2011 to Rs.412.03 per kg during the period in 2012.
CEPCI Chairman Harikrishnan R. Nair told the 57th annual general meeting of the council in Kollam recently that the American zone accounted for 37 per cent of Indian cashew exports and European and West Asian zones accounted for 27 and 23 per cent respectively.
He appealed to Horticulture Departments in States such as Kerala, Odisha, and Goa to focus on cashew cultivation to emulate the success of Maharashtra, which had recorded substantial growth in cashew production.
