<p></p><p>Lack of competitive bids from processing units The Plantation Corporation of Kerala (PCK), known to produce top-graded cashew nuts on mass scale, is facing hurdles in auctioning the produce apparently for want of competitive bids from cashew processing units.</p> <p>The unforeseen situation has emerged after the PCK deferred the auctioning process of cashew nuts twice in a row, the recent being the one scheduled on Thursday at the cashew procurement unit at Muliyar that falls under the Plantation Corporation’s Kasaragod division. </p><p>The auctioning process, held on August 8 at the Muliyar unit, in which six bidders took part had been deferred as the maximum bid was ₹122 a kg against the previous year’s price quoted in the range of ₹150-155, informed sources here said. </p><p>However, the public sector unit was yet again driven to defer the process planned on Thursday as the lone bidder from Kollam quoted ₹105 a kg when the open market offered up to ₹145 a kg in the initial harvest period for small-time cultivators. </p><p>Subsequently, the farmers were offered prices in the range of ₹130-120 days after commencing the monsoon season. </p><p>Reports reaching here attributed the reduction in prices to lack of scientific procurement units, a charge refuted by the PCK </p><p>official here. </p><p>The Corporation manages a vast stretch of cashew estates spread across 11 panchayats and has been auctioning the produce to highest bidders for the nut collection and its sale over the last few years.<br></p><p></p>