Cashew nut prices have almost doubled in the past few weeks with Vietnam defaulting on export contracts and Indian crop down 50% due to atypical rains, traders said. Indian exporters have regained lost market shares and signed contracts above $7 per kg, which is a record high in the recent past, Bharathan Pillai, chairman, Cashew Export Promotion Council of India told FE.
Pillai said that Indian exports in the current fiscal are likely to increase substantially in value terms compared to the performance of the last fiscal due to global supply shortage. However, in volume terms exports are likely to fall short of the last year?s performance, he added. Exports, in May, recorded a 33% increase in value terms. Interestingly, the unit value realisation has increased drastically by 28% to Rs 247.17 per kg from Rs 193 per kg. Export performance was disappointing for the last FY with exports dropping by 6% in value terms and almost 4% in volume terms when compared to 2006-07.
Exporters from Vietnam have defaulted on contracts to the US, Europe and Japan after failing to procure raw cashew nuts economically. Average cost of raw cashew nut has moved up to $1,200 per tonne (Rs 51,563) from $800 last year. The wild fluctuations in the Vietnamese currency have also added to the ongoing problems.
?India may have to shell out more to import raw cashew kernels as the price of raw nuts has also increased in tandem. But the unit value realised from re-export is likely go up by 50-60% more,? Pillai said.