Indian Cashew Exports Hit by Global Slowdown - Cashew Demand Continues to Grow Globally - What Is the Weather Like in the Cashew Market, Is There a Downward Trend in Prices?

Indian Cashew Exports Hit by Global Slowdown

Mintec Global
Spread the news!

In foreign countries demand for Indian cashews is decreasing – 21% reduced export

Indian cashew exports have been adversely affected due to government policies and international political issues. Apart from this, there could be quality issues this year.

Foreign demand for cashews has decreased this year. The noted decline is about 21% till the end of March 2023. Shipments have come down to 59.58k tonnes in FY 2022-23 as compared to 75.45k tonnes in the previous year. Exporters are attributing the decline in shipments to the global slowdown, which has affected cashew consumption across markets.

There is a decline in terms of the value of cashew export which affected the revenue also. It has declined by 15%. The approximate value of exports in 2021 – 2022 was 410.88 Million USD but, it’s only 348.99 Million USD in 2022 – 2023. This year is the lowest quantity of export of cashews in the past two decades, due to this effect traders continue to slow down shipments due to a fall in prices in overseas markets, said J Rajmohan Pillai, chairman of Beta Group, with the brand name “Nutking”.

Cashew nutshell export has increased in Japan

There is always one good thing hidden. Though cashew exports have decreased, the export of cashew nutshell liquid is on the rise. Export has increased from 5k tonnes to 17.25k tonnes. There is a huge demand from Japan as it is mainly used for industrial purposes for the production of varnishes, paints, etc. as well as production is minimal.

Lack of Govt. activities to promote export

Dr. RK Bhoodes, former chairman of the Cashew Export Promotion Council, highlighted several factors for the poor performance of Indian cashew in the global market, including 

  1. Lack of export promotion activities by the Ministry of Commerce in international fairs,
  2. Unethical import of finished kernels from Vietnam and African countries, and 
  3. Stopping several incentive schemes for exports by the government.

For example, Bhoodes said CEPCI had participated in the Gulf Food Show in Dubai in February with its own funds, as West Asia is a major destination for Indian cashew.

Cashew quality has been affected: Re-export of imported cashews 

There was a time when Indian cashews were known for their quality. Indians used to get premium prices in the international market due to the quality of cashew production. Few things have changed now. SEZ & EOU are now importing some cheaper quality cashews and then they re-export under the Indian Cashew brand at relatively lower prices. 

He said that the stoppage of financial assistance by the government has affected the mechanization of processing factories, resulting in higher processing costs in India, making the products uncompetitive in the international market.

Import/Export Statistics

Please click to reach our marketplace