<p></p><p>For two days, beginning Monday 7 March, over 2,000 cashew nut processing units across the state of Tamil Nadu downed shutters in protest of the 9.36 per cent duty imposed on the import of raw cashews in the Union budget.M.P. Jayachandran, general secretary, Cashew Factory Owners’ Development Association of Tamil Nadu, told The Hindu that though the government was giving back 5 per cent of import duty while exporting the processed nuts, the factory owners could not bear the brunt, as the industry was already suffering due to a shortage of raw materials and poor prices for the processed nuts.The association fears that if the notification was brought into force, the cost of raw nuts would go up by at least Rs. 10 per kg.The hike in import duty on raw cashews could paralyse the industry, which would be in conflict with the present policy of the government to promote small scale industries, Mr. Jayachandran said.He said that the industry was wholly dependent on the import of raw cashews from Nigeria, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ivory Coast and Ghana and the condition to export one kg of processed nuts for every four kg of raw cashew was not feasible, he said. <br></p> <p>(1 Indian Rupee=0.015USD)<br></p><p></p>