PANAJI: The total amount of cashew nut imported by India is higher than that exported, but efforts can be made under Atmanirbhar Bharat to propel cashew cultivation and export, said director, directorate of cashew nut and cocoa development, Venkatesh Hubballi.
He said that the country spent nearly Rs 8,800 crore to import raw nuts to India in the financial year 2019-20. This is as opposed to Rs 3,800 crore revenue generated from the export of cashew.
In Goa, cashew cultivation is secondary with only about 25,000 tonne of production. He said if farmers can take up intensive cultivation, then it can be increased to about 37,000 to 40,000 tonne. “The best is to remove the old plantation and replant it with a high-yielding variety,” he said.
“We therefore need to bring people together to increase the area under cashew cultivation, go for quality development and become self-reliant,” Hubballi said, while speaking at the national conference on cashew development in India held in Panaji on Friday.
He said that of the total agri-export, cashew generates 0.03% of revenue to the GDP. There is a lot of demand for cashew nut in the domestic market, too. Last year, India processed 17 lakh tonne of cashew nut, of which only 33% was exported. The rest 67% was consumed domestically.
Source:-timesofindia.indiatimes.com