<p></p><p>Cashew exports from the country continued to show a declining trend with 28 per cent fall during April-May this year in terms of volume and 19 per cent in value. <br></p> <p>Total shipments during the first two months of the current fiscal dropped to 11,044 tonnes valued at `607.27 crore from 15,338 tonnes valued at `749.57 crore in the corresponding period last financial year, according to Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI). <br></p> <p>The unit value increased this fiscal to `549.88 a kg from `488.70 in April-May 2015, they said. <br></p> <p>Meanwhile, fall in the unit value of Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL)/Cardinol is said to have raised their exports to 2,257 tonnes valued at `8.23 crore from 1,679 tonnes valued at `9.80 crore. The unit value realised fell to `36.47 a kg from `58.36, CEPCI sources said. <br></p> <p>Attributing the consistent fall in exports mainly to non-receipt of parity price for kernel, Sundaram Prabha, Chairman, CEPCI, told BusinessLine that high Raw Cashew Nut (RCN) prices coupled with closing down of around 80 per cent of the factories in Kerala following a hike in wages are also responsible for the fall. <br></p> <p>However, imports of raw cashew nuts dropped during April-May this year to 85,140 tonnes valued at `697.99 crore from 1,74,448 tonnes valued at `1,372.68 crore in the same period last fiscal. The unit value of RCN was at `81.98 as against `78.69. <br></p> <p>According to Pankaj N Sampat, a Mumbai-based dealer, the RCN prices have come down from the peaks of April 2016 but are still high compared to 2015 average and much higher than 2014 average. Notwithstanding any significant decline in kernel prices cannot be expected to happen although we might see a dip from current levels when supplies would pick up in 3rd quarter. The slip might be large because the high price paid for RCN will not allow shellers to sell at much lower levels, he pointed out. <br></p> <p>As RCN arrivals into India and Vietnam are picking up from May, shellers will need to keep selling on a regular basis, he added.<br></p><p></p>