The Hindu Business Line : Cashew body to hold fairs to raise offtake

AS part of an attempt to expand market, the Mangalore Cashew Manufacturers' Association (MCMA) will be organising a `Cashew Fest' jointly with the Department of Business Administration of Mangalore University here from September 28. This is the first such festival to have been organised in this region.

Similar awareness campaigns have been planned in other Indian cities and a few overseas markets, said the MCMA President, Mr Yashwanth Pai.

The cashew industry, according to MCMA, is the only traditional industry in the coastal belt of Karnataka to have survived following a steady demand for the commodity in the international market. The depreciation of the rupee against the dollar had helped the industry to increase its market share overseas and over 70 per cent of the total national produce was exported, Mr Pai said.

MCMA feels that the industry has not exploited its marketing initiative to its full potential. The cashew fests to be organised are a part of an initiative to spread awareness regarding the beneficial aspects of cashew consumption, particularly with respect to its nutritional value and increased use as a dietary supplement in overseas markets.

Moreover, according to MCMA, cashew exports during 2001-02 crossed 97,550 tonnes valued at Rs 1,776.70 crore, making it second in the list of agricultural commodities exported from the country.

But there is an emerging threat from other countries as Brazil and Vietnam. With raw cashewnut production projected to increase by over 40 per cent over the next five to six years, the production of cashew kernels is set to witness a quantum jump which could result in a mismatch of the demand-supply position. This increase in the production of cashew kernels would create a crisis if marketing avenues were not explored. And it is this possibility, according to MCMA, that has led it to take up cashew promotion.

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