<p></p><p>The state of Goa is facing a shortage of raw cashew nuts as production has taken a dip of 50% compared to last years'. Farmers have been disappointed by the availability of the nuts. Satish Tendulkar, director of agriculture, said Goa's average cashew production lies between 20 and 21 thousand ton per season which spans from January to June. Tendulkar hopes the recent rain in some areas of Sanguem, Canacona, etc would give a slight respite to cashew-producing farmers.</p> <p>One of the main reasons for the drop in production is adverse weather that has affected the flowers of the cashew plants. Ponda zonal agricultural officer (ZAO) Nitin Bakhale said immediate rains would help production flourish again. </p><p>Madhav Sahakari, the chairman of the Goa Cashew Processors' Association (GCPA) said the situation would mean the importation of cashews from abroad and other states. GCPA has 22 cashew processing factories as its members and need around 24 tons of raw cashews to run their factories uninterrupted for the year. The state produces only about 21 tons every year and they have to purchase cashews from other states, Sahakari said. </p><p> "This year we will be forced to import cashew from foreign countries like Africa, Indonesia, Congo, Thailand, Tanzania, etc," Sahakari said. </p><p> </p><br><p></p>