17 June 2019

Nigerians stakeholders advice government on cashew policy

The major glut that hit the cashew industry has plunged revenue from the cash crop, running into several billions of naira, a development considered as a big blow to farmers, exporters and other stakeholders in the cashew value-chain.


Cashew market report-17-06-2019

The prices of cashew kernels are stable. Prompt until July shipment prices are firmer than August and later shipments. Uncommitted kernel inventory for prompt and nearby shipments are limited. Stocks of RCN are available in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Benin and Tanzania (2018 crop) but general quality is going down a bit. Also Guinea Bissau is having sufficient RCN stocks but prices are going up as the Indian buyers are pushing prices up for this better quality material. 

16 June 2019

Hike in import duty expected to boost domestic processing of Indian cashews

The Centre’s decision to hike the minimum import price (MIP) for whole and broken cashew has brought cheers to the cashew processing sector. The stakeholders observed that low-quality cashew kernel shipments from Africa and ASEAN countries had hit the domestic industry.


“We are happy with the DGFT notification which was long overdue as low-priced cashew kernel imports impacted the local production. The origin countries impose taxes on export of raw cashew, while they incentivise kernel exports. This has resulted in dumping of cheap and low-quality nuts into India, making the domestic industry uncompetitive,” Rahul Kamath, past president of Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers Association, told BusinessLine.


The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) hiked the MIP for broken cashew to ₹680/kg from ₹288/kg. The whole cashew price has been enhanced to ₹720/kg from ₹400/kg.


According to RK Bhoodes, Chairman, Cashew Export Promotion Council, low- quality kernels from Vietnam, Mozambique, Ivory Cost are being dumped into the domestic market by partly evading the customs duty. This has affected genuine processors, who are finding difficulties in selling their products, as the domestic processing becomes unviable. This has led to closure of many cashew processing units.


“We are heavily dependent on imports as the sector needs 16 lakh tonnes of raw cashew for processing. Of which, 8.17 lakh tonnes was produced in the country,” he said.


The MIP was introduced in 2013 at the then market price. Later, the market price has gone up to 2-2.5 times, touching ₹700-₹800/kg for whole cashew and ₹650-₹700 for broken cashew. However, some importers misused provisions under various FTA’s and shipped large volumes of plain cashew kernels (mostly brokens), which are of inferior quality. The absence of a domestic market was the reason for origin countries to sell their products in the Indian market at throwaway prices.


These countries are providing 20-25 per cent incentives to exports of finished and semi-finished kernels. Taking advantage of this, they are dumping kernels as they have an advantage of 45 per cent of the costing compared to domestic processing. Besides, there were instances of wrong declaration on cashew kernel imports as roasted cashew and animal feeds, he said.


“It was the cashew workers who initially started the agitation against cheap kernel imports as it led to the closure of several processing units,” said K Rajesh, Convenor, Kerala Cashew Industry Joint Protest Council.


The government’s decision to hike the MIP is expected to revive the domestic cashew processing sector and thereby bring in more job opportunities. He also requested the government to extend a revival package to open the closed processing units.


India currently produces around 3.5 lakh tonnes of cashew kernels. The production and import of raw cashew is around 8 lakh tonnes and 9 lakh tonnes, respectively. The country exported 84,352 tonnes of cashew kernels in 2017-18 as against 82,302 tonne during the previous year. In value terms, exports went up almost 18 per cent to $911 million in 2017-18.

14 June 2019

Cashew news-14-06-2019

International market demand for cashew kernels has fallen slightly this week but many processors now have their order books filled at least until July, which allows them to continue to place a few orders of raw cashew nuts from West Africa.

Indian processors and importers are particularly active in the purchase of good quality nuts from Guinea-Bissau/Senegal/Gambia. Indeed, as seen two weeks ago, Indian imports have so far beenlower than last year and this is why Indianindustry still needs to make large orders to get enough supply, as much as consumption remains dynamic in this fast-growing country. This favors a slight increase in the prices offered for nuts in this zone.




Ivory Coast's export statistics for May confirm that the slowdown in demand in April led to a sharp decline in Ivorian exports of raw cashew nuts in the first five months of the year.

In the end, Côte d'Ivoire exported 46,000 MT less than in the first 5 months of 2019. Exports were up between January and March (exports of the old stock of 2018) but slightly down in April and sharply down in May.

On the other hand, in terms of cashew kernel exports, growth continues. In the first five months of the year, Ivorian exports of kernel increased by more than 35%. In May, with more than 1,000 MT exported, Côte d'Ivoire confirms its position as the world's 4th largest processor in 2019 and the country where processing is experiencing the fastest growth.

Despite weak exports of RCN in May (a result of weak demand on the field in April) and contrary to all expectations, the campaign seems to be coming to a relatively early end in eastern and central West Africa

Most of the farmers have released their stocks and although some still hope for a price jump and hold stocks, the supply available on the markets tends to decrease in all production areas.

There are also significant stocks with some traders who have paid high prices in the start of the season and do not want to sell at a loss.

But little by little most of these storers are convinced to no longer take risks and sell their nuts. If demand continues at the current pace, it is likely that 90% of the producer and trader stocks will have been sold by the end of the month. There remains the Guinea-Bissau/Senegal/Gambia zone, where harvests are still in progress and where less than half of the production has been sold so far. Producers in this zone can expect to see increasing demand in the coming weeks as importers who still have a great need will continue to favor this area to be sure of having the quantities needed.

In other areas of West Africa, it is likely that with the gradual withdrawal of buyers and the intensification of rains, prices are unlikely to rise and that is why we still recommend a quick sale.

Source:- Vinacas

22 March 2019

Seasonal information and recommendations for purchasing and importing raw materials for the 2019 season-VINACAS

In the morning of March 15, 2019 in the city Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS) organized a Conference on cashew purchasing for the 2019 season. Mr. Pham Van Cong - Chairman of VINACAS chaired the Conference. Attending the meeting were the members of the Standing Committee, members of the Executive Board of VINACAS and representatives of over 70 cashew processing and trading enterprises in Vietnam. Information about buying and selling high and buy and buy products with high quality in 2019

After a discussion, serious, lively and frank exchange at the Conference, VINACAS Chairman summarized the opinions of the delegates and concluded as follows:

1. Time Recently, it is reported that: this year's crop of Vietnam and Cambodia is poor; Due to the weather, Africa has lost its seasons, leading to a reduction in world cashew production. This information is not correct. According to the actual assessment of enterprises that are directly purchasing, trading and processing large cashew, there are many experiences to participate in this Conference; as well as assessments of domestic and foreign experts at the International Conference of Conferences organized by VINACAS in Ho Chi Minh City. Hue in March 2019, then:

The crop of Vietnam and Cambodia is normal; Some parts of Africa may be affected by climate but what is widely cultivated in Africa should not take the situation in some areas to say Africa lost its seasons. It is expected that the total output of the world is nearly 4 million tons, an increase of 300,000 - 400,000 tons compared to 2018. Therefore, the amount of raw cashew supplies to the market will not be lacking. In the long term: As the area and production of cashew nuts in Africa increase rapidly while the processing capacity is low and the development is slow, it will not significantly affect the quantity of raw cashew supplied to the world and Vietnam market. And although processing in Africa is low cost, it is not competitive with Vietnamese cashew nuts.

2. Recently, some Vietnamese enterprises have broken VINACAS's policy, and the agreement of VINACAS with the association of some countries (especially the agreement signed with CEPCI - India): signed contract and payment of deposit at the rate of 15% or more (if paid in the form of mixture of TTR / DP). Some exporters of raw cashew nuts require 100% payment instead of allowing 2% retention, after being verified by Vinacontrol / Cafecontrol, it is just enough to pay off. VINACAS recommends: signing is such a disadvantage and potential risks.

3. In order to contribute to market stabilization, risk reduction for both cashew industry and enterprises: for enterprises that do not implement the policies of Vinacas, intentionally buying dumping and disturbing the market, Vinacas will consider to publish on their "groups" and internal media; At the same time, warn the bank to take note when lending to perform the contract.

4. The market of cashew workers has not been active recently because importers do not stockpile much; Some people wait for the price to go down; Some people wait for market stability with a new price level. However, the demand for cashew in the world is not decreasing but increasing slightly. Therefore, from balancing the demand for cashew and supply of raw cashew, it is normal to process cashew nuts of the world in general and Vietnam in particular. Vietnamese producers and traders need to be alert so that they do not suffer from false information, causing losses to their operations.

5. Quality of raw cashew is something that businesses need to pay special attention to; mixing old cashew nuts, poor quality into new ones is possible and it is very difficult to control all from farmers' purchasing stage to the circulation and storage process. Therefore, when signing a business contract, it should:

- Choose a large, reputable partner to minimize risks; If there are quality problems, they also cooperate to handle with a sense of responsibility, not to remove their hands.

- Agreement with partners and write in clear and detailed contracts on quality.

- Select an independent quality control unit capable of inspecting goods.

6. Last time, Vinacas Reconciliation Council received many applications for handling disputes in raw cashew purchase and sale contracts. However, the settlement is very difficult because the enterprises are not close to contracts, with their disadvantages. VINACAS has warned about this issue (attached documents). VINACAS notes enterprises: when negotiating and signing contracts, it is necessary to ensure the Fairness principle of rights and responsibilities in each clause.

7. Many businesses reflect: The Plant Quarantine Agency has requested to conduct a sample inspection of all imported raw cashew shipments originating from Africa at the port, instead of allowing to be taken back to their warehouses. business as before. This makes it difficult and generates a lot of costs and time of the business; will cause congestion at the port when entering the peak of the processing; will seriously affect the production and business plan of the whole industry in 2019.

This issue of Vinacas has issued Official Letter 08/2019 / CV-HHD on January 15, 2019 to the Department of Plant Protection - MARD Village and Region II Plant Quarantine Branch. Immediately after the conference, Vinacas continued to send documents to 2 agencies above to remove the cashew industry.

Mr. Pham Van Cong - VINACAS Chairman, on behalf of the Standing Committee - VINACAS Executive Board, called on businesses in the Vietnamese cashew industry: Solidarity, alertness to master the situation; endeavor to have an effective business year, all elements in the value chain of Win-win industry, contributing to the sustainable development of Vietnam's cashew industry.