Cashew production during 2008-09 is estimated to have increased nominally by around 3-4%, sources at the Kochi-based Directorate of Cashew and Cocoa Development (DACCD) said. According to the crop estimate prepared by the agency, the country?s production would be around 6.9 lakh tonne as against 6.6 lakh tonne in 2007-08, Venketesh Hubballi of DACCD told FE. In 2006-07, the production stood at 6.2 lakh tonne.
?Production is seen increasing only in Maharashtra. In other states the production is more or less stagnant,? he said. Cashew is mainly cultivated in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The production in Maharashtra has increased by 6-7%, he added. Production in Maharashtra during 2008-09 would be around 1.7 lakh tonne.
India has to import more than half of its requirement of raw cashew due to poor productivity. Indian productivity is lower by three to four times than Vietnam. While Vietnam has hardly 10% of the world?s cashew farming area, it produces 34% of the world?s cashew. India, on the other hand, has the largest share of land under cashew (24%) but has a share of only 19% of the total production. The productivity of Vietnam is 2.8 tonne of cashew per hectare, while the average productivity in India is only 663 kg per hectare.
The credit for highest productivity in India goes to Maharashtra with 1.1 tonne per hectare. The state has also displaced Kerala as the largest producer of cashew with 25% of the total production.
Cashew production is likely to get a boost with the directorate taking steps to increase the area under farming to one million hectare (ha) by 2012. The government body has decided to take up cultivation in a big way in states like Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, and the northeastern region under the eleventh plan. From the present farming area of 8,74,000 ha, the directorate hopes to achieve a 15% increase in area that will help in reducing the import of raw cashew kernels, for which the nation depends on African nations. In traditional areas, the directorate hopes to replant up to 10,000 ha to increase productivity.