<p></p><p>Cashew exports during the current fiscal have increased significantly in volume and value. If the trend continues, total shipments will be a record high. However, Vietnam has overtaken India in cashew exports. For the past eight years, the Far-East nation is the top shipper of cashew.</p> <p>“We expect record shipments this fiscal. The exchange rate has been favourable for exporters,” Sasi Varma, Executive Director & Secretary, Cashew Export Promotion Council of India, told Business Line. During April 2013-January 2014, total shipments of cashew increased to 1,00,477 tonnes valued at ₹4,206.26 crore at a unit value of ₹418.63 a kg against 85,879 tonnes valued at ₹3,350.81 crore at the unit value of ₹390.18 a kg. </p><p>Export of cashew nut shell liquid rose to 8,260 tonnes valued at ₹40.03 crore against 7,334 tonnes valued at ₹24.29 crore during the period, he said. </p><p><b>Raw nut imports </b></p><p>On the other hand, the exchange rate is unfavourable for some exporters who have to import raw cashew nuts. The volatile exchange rate due to swinging rupee coupled with high (non-parity) prices have dragged imports of raw nuts. This could affect exports at a later stage, he said. Imports of raw nuts decreased during the period to 6,90,526 tonnes valued at ₹3,896.69 crore from 8,04,425 tonnes valued at ₹4,802.62 crore in the same period a year ago, he said. Though raw cashew nut production India has more than doubled in the last two decades, poor yield is still a cause for concern compared to competitors such as Vietnam. </p><p>According to official estimates, raw cashew output in 2012-13 is around 7.3 lakh tonnes (lt) from an area of over 9.8 lakh hectares. This is against 3.48 lt from 5.65 lakh hectares in 1993-94 and 5 lt from 7.7 lakh hectares in 2002-03. Vietnam at the top The yield in other global producing nations such as Vietnam is lower, official sources told Business Line. Total raw cashew production in Vietnam in 1993 was 1.86 lt from 69,100 hectares. It shot up to 12.73 lt from a total area of 3.31 lakh hectares in 2011, according to the latest FAO statistics. The yield from a hectare is currently 3.8 tonnes in Vietnam against India’s 772 kg. </p><p>Varma, who is currently in Japan to participate in Foodex, said: “Japan has always been a favourable market for Indian cashews and our participation in Foodex Tokyo will further strengthen our ties.” Vietnam reportedly exported 2,57,000 tonnes of cashew nuts in 2013, up 15.8 per cent year-on-year, presenting the eighth consecutive year the country has topped the world’s cashew nuts exports. On the report of record Vietnamese reports, Sasi Varma said, “the difference is that they do not have any domestic market whereas in India, domestic sale is estimated to be more than double of our exports.”<br></p><p></p><br>