<p></p><p>Rampant import of cashew kernels (brokens and splits) by under invoicing from Vietnam and Brazil is affecting the domestic cashew processing industry.The Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CECPCI), under the ministry of commerce, has urged the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and Customs Department to take tough measures to curb the imports and penalise duty evaders.</p> <p>“We have written to the government, DGFT and Customs Department to be more vigilant and restrict the imports to one or two ports, so that the under invoicing of cashew kernels can be stopped. We have asked them to designate Tuticorin and Kochi ports for import of cashew kernels because the customs officers in many other ports are unable to identify cashew kernels,” Sasi Varma, Executive Director and Secretary, CEPCI said.The CEPCI has noticed import of rampant under-invoiced cashew kernels, especially brokens and splits, which is affecting the domestic processors. This is also leading to a considerable revenue loss by way of import duty for the government, he said. </p><p>Between April 2011 and February 2012, about 818 tonnes of cashew kernels valued at Rs 10.25 crore were imported through Nhava Sheva port at an average price of Rs 125.32 per kg. The declared prices for imports are much lower than the actual value, which is in the region of Rs 200-500 per kg depending on the quality and grades.The import duty on cashew kernels is 36.9%. The total imports were about 2,000 tonnes during the period from all the ports in India. Mumbai and Chennai are two other ports, where the under invoiced imports are taking place. </p><p>“There is no domestic consumption of cashew kernels in Vietnam, which is mainly exporting its kernels to the US. As the US is not taking splits and broken kernels, Vietnam is exporting them to India, which has huge market for such products. It is in turn affecting the domestic cashew processing industry,” Varma told Business Standard.With the Diwali festival round the corner, it is estimated that the import of broken kernels will further rise, Varma added. </p><p>“These are not only ruining our domestic cashew processing industry, but also helping our competitors in the international market as there is no demand for their broken grades. Our competitors like Vietnam and Brazil are encroaching into our domestic market forcefully. This will ultimately affect our employment of lakhs of women workers currently employed by the cashew processing industry in rural areas," he said. </p><p>Though the DGFT, Ministry of Commerce sends out periodical alerts to all customs, figures show that this procedure is continuing, he said.In addition to this, it is learnt that considerable quantities of mis-declared cashew kernels are being imported into the country under the guise of cattle feed / poultry feed, among others causing further loss to the exchequer, Varma noted.India produces about 650,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts and imports 700,000 tonnes, which will be converted into cashew kernels. In 2011-12, India exported 130,000 tonnes of kernels valued at Rs 4,400 crore. The domestic consumption is estimated at 150,000 tonnes valued over Rs 5,000 crore.<br></p><p></p>