Falling cashew exports from the nation got a reprieve in December and January due to some short covering by US, traders said. Default by some Vietnamese exporters have seen the US turn to India to cover their requirements and the bonhomie seems to be extending to February, a senior executive of a multi-national trading house told FE. An unexpected shortfall in global supply also saw the market firm up slightly during the period.
Indian exports have managed a slight growth in December-January period, which is reflected in the unit realisation for the period. The unit realization per kg of exports has crept to Rs 195.23 for the period April-January, as against Rs 192.03 during April-November. Similarly, the export for April-January 2007-08 is lower only 9.4% as against 11% for the period April-November, as compared to related figures of 2006-07.
During April-January 2007-08, India exported 94,794 tonne of cashew valued at Rs 1,850.71 crore against 98,286 tonne valued at Rs 2.43.54 crore during the corresponding period previous year. Import of raw cashew kernels for the period stood at 51,434 tonne valued at Rs 1,358.38 crore as against 519,979 tonne worth Rs 1608.06 crore during the corresponding period last year.
Interestingly, the import price of raw kernels has also gone up due to tightening supply from African nations. The unit price of imports per kilogram during December and January stood above Rs 40 as against the average of Rs 26.61 for the whole period. Experts estimate the encouraging trend to end shortly with fresh supply from Ghana and Ivory Coast comes from March.