<p></p><p>Foreign exchange earned by the country through export of cashew kernels during 2011-12 touched `.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 `.2,819 crore earned from kernel exports during 2010-11. </p> <p>The country exported 1.31 lakh tons of kernel during 2011-12 compared to 1.05 lakh tons during 2010-11. The U.S. continued to be the biggest importer of cashew kernel from India. While the U.S. imported 35,236 tons of kernel (from India) during 2010-11, it swelled to 47,611 tons during 2011-12. In value terms, it was `.911.31 crore and `.1,470.47 core respectively. </p><p>The United Arab Emirates (UAE) stood second in kernel import with 14,173 tons during 2011-12. The figure was 12,295 tons during 2010-11. In terms of value it was `.393.31 crore and `.606.11 crore respectively. The Netherlands was in the third position with 11,517 tons last year compared to 11,178 tons during 2010-11. In terms of value it was `.365.57 crore and `.289.02 crore respectively. From Japan and Saudi Arabia, the country earned an equivalent of `.237.45 crore and `.207.01 crore respectively through the export of kernel last year. </p><p>Exports to the United Kingdom also registered a significant increase last year. The figure touched 3,717 tons compared to 2,798 tons the previous year. In terms of value it was `.109.45 crore and `.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. </p><p>The country also earned an equivalent of `.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 `.33.77 crore. The U.S. was the biggest importer of shell liquid in the last two years. China remained in the second position. </p><p><b>MARGINAL RISE</b> </p><p>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 `.1,005 crore. Earnings during April-June 2011 were `.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. </p> <p>A report released by CEPCI said the total volume of export came down to 24,405 tons during April-June this year compared to the 24,959 tons during the same period last year. The volume of kernel export in June this year was lower at 8,038 tons compared to the same month last year when the volume was 8,417 tons. However, earnings increased from `.331 crore to `.353 crore. Import of raw cashew was in tandem with the export figures with the volume of imports coming down to 1.94 lakh tons during the first three months of the current year compared to the volume of 1.95 lakh tons during the same period in 2011. </p><p>Figures from CEPCI also showed that the per-unit cost of imported cashew came down from `.65.16 a kg during April-June 2011 to `.60.14 during the same period in 2011. This is in contrast to the rise in per-unit cost of exported kernel from `.375.90 a kg during the April-June period in 2011 to `.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. </p><p>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.<br></p><p></p><br>