Cashew Market Still Holding Weak Sentiment In India

Mintec Global
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On Tuesday, 21 September, the government of India announced its export of agricultural and process food product report for the quarter of April to August. As per the report, cashew export has experienced an increased growth by 28.5% for April -August 2021. Compared to last year, India exported cashew worth $144 million this year. The export amount was $185 million as per the statement released by the government.

Despite the increase in the export market, the cashew farmers are unhappy because of the lowered price of the crop at which they are compelled to sell the produce.

Earlier this month, the price for all the cashew varieties in India plummeted. W240 decreased from $10,56 per kg FOB to $8,21 per kg FOB. W320’s price decreased to $7,80 per kg FOB from $9,21 per kg FOB. W450 also had a price drop from $8,27 per kg FOB to $6,30 per kg FOB. Similarly, LWP and SWP prices dropped to $5,54 per kg FOB from $7,46 per kg FOB and $5,35 per kg FOB from $6,24 per kg FOB respectively.

After this slump, the prices remained steady in the market, and on Wednesday, all these varieties closed on the same note. It is believed that the pandemic and its effect on south Asia, which has led to many cashew consuming countries restrict their import, has caused the price drop in the market. Also, increased freight prices and the shortage of containers have caused the cashew’s need to weaken.

However, while India’s report on cashew export was received with jubilation by the traders, it’s a different story for the cashew growers in India. It has been reported that despite cashew nut growing to be a lucrative venture for the coastal areas of India, the farmers are shifting to other crops due to the middleman nexus. Growers have said that due to the lack of processing units and the impact of a pandemic, they were forced to sell their raw and unprocessed cashews at way lower prices than the market to the middleman.

This can impact the cashew growth in India significantly in the long run if the government does not step in to rectify the issues.

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