After months of declining due to lower off take by developed markets, cashew exports are staging a recovery on the back of good demand from Asian countries.
Value of exports for the first quarter of 2010-11 have increased when compared to the same period of the last fiscal on lower volume. Economic problems in the developed market of Europe and the US have altered the dynamics of cashew trade with buyers preferring near-term contracts and lower inventory which have resulted in high volatility.
Value of exports in April-June 2010-11 are up by 2% compared to the same period of 2009-10, while volume during the same period is down by 1.6%. The total realisation for the period stood at Rs 713.01 crore as against Rs 698.46 crore for the previous period. In June, exports have increased by 3% in volume terms and 13% in value when compared with the same month of 2009.
In 2009-10, India exported 1,08,120 tonne of processed cashew valued at Rs 2,905.82 crore as against 1,09,522 tonne valued at Rs 2,988.40 crore during 2008-09.
?Share of major markets has changed in the last few years and the pattern of buying has also altered. There is increasing emphasis on spot prices due to the nature of nearby buying in large Asian market and the changed pattern of buying by several buyers in major importing countries,? Pankaj Sampat of Samsons Trading told FE.
Experts say that buyers are not committing large volumes and long-term contracts after the credit squeeze that accompanied the global slow down. Big retailers are not only keeping lower inventory, they are covering for lesser time. ?This would lead to increased volatility in 2010 due to mismatch of buying and selling needs?, industry watchers added.
Sampat added that US and Europe will be quiet for next few weeks but he expects good support from Asia. ?The market will be supported by periodic demand from other markets until the next round of volume buying by US and Europe,? he added.