<p></p><p>Cashew nut sales have taken a major blow due to low demand from China and West Asia, Xinhua news agency reported. While the Western market has been consuming lower than the usual rate over the last three years, lower demand from South-East Asia and West Asia has upset the trade dynamics.</p> <p>Pratap Nair of Vijayalakshmi Cashews, one of the oldest and largest cashew-exporting business, said : "Political tensions in the Middle East (West Asia) is a major cause for the decline. Iran and Syria were a major consumer of nuts. Demand from China and India has also been lower than estimated. New markets were helping the cashew industry grow when demand from the traditional markets declined." </p><p>India is the world's largest consumer of cashew nuts with consumption estimates ranging from 170,000 to 190,000 ton. It is also one of the largest processor and exporter of kernels. Cashew lost significant market share in 2011 due to high prices and reduced availability. </p><p>Prices of W 320 grade touched 4.50 U.S. dollars per pound in 2011 but have declined to 3.20 to 3.30 U.S. dollars. Consumption of snack nuts fell by 11 percent in US during 2011 against the 2 to 3 percent annual growth. "Buyers in the main importing regions of US and Europe are picking up any offers they see at the lower end of the current range. They do not seem to be willing to pay the 10 to 15 cents premium that shellers are asking for the forwards," Pankaj Sampat of Samsons Trading said. </p><p>Nair said he believes the market would stabilise at the current level as it had already bottomed out. "Indian festival demand and Chinese demand would help the market become steady. Big retailers in US and Europe also buy forwards in September for the year-end consumption," he said. Sampat said: "In the next few weeks, we will know the trend of Asian demand for the last quarter and we will probably get some idea of US and EU demand for the first half of next year. If activity picks up in this period, we could see the prices inch up a bit." </p><p> </p><br><p></p>