But how can Africa Benefit?
Indian Festival (Pix: CashewInfo.com) |
Brazil, China,
India and the United States of America (USA) have been identified as new market
trends and opportunities for African cashew growers.
However,
it is apparent that in India, where “no festival is said to be complete without
a bit of cashew”, proves to be a great market for export of Raw Cashew Nuts
(RCN) from Africa, with an estimate of approximately 40 percent of the global
cashew crop produced by nearly 2.5 million small scale farmers in Africa.
“Seven million
marriages takes place in India every year; even considering 1 kilogram per
marriage for only 20 percent of the marriages, is 1400 tonnes of cashew kernel
per annum,” according to Mr G Srivatsava, President Foretell Business Solutions
Private Limited.
“There
is a family function for every conceivable occasion; child birth, naming
ceremony, 25th wedding anniversary, 50th wedding anniversary.”
Kaju Usal – Mumbai Snack (Pix: cashewinfo.com) |
Since
2001, imports of RCN in India have grown at a mixed annual rate of 9.1 percent,
while domestic RCN production slugged along at compounded annual rate of 2.7
percent, said Mr Srivatsava in a presentation entitled “From Luxury Nut to Daily
Snack: Lessons and Opportunities in
World Markets” during a panel session on “New market trends and opportunities for
Africa” at the recently concluded 6th African Cashew Alliance Annual
Conference in Banjul, The Gambia.
He noted
that though exports have grown by one percent within the same period, there have
been losses in market share in traditional markets like the US and the
Netherlands, while domestic consumption grew by 9.2 percent.
Mr
Srivatsava noted that at present, the best opportunity for Africa could be the
export of RCNs, with measures to improve post-harvest practices and minimizing
losses could bring a value gain of at lest 10 percent, an estimated annual
saving potential of US$60 million.
“The market for broken nuts in India is also
emerging. It could become a specialised area in the next five years as the
demand is discontinuous. Africa could look at this segment,” he said. “For developing large scale processing units,
invite Indian processors to set-up units in EOUs. This would help in job
creation, human resource development and lastly market access and credibility.”
World
prices for Cashew reached a record high in 2011, which Mr Srivatsava attributed
to the growing Indian demand as one of the key factors behind price stability,
especially when the global RCN grew by 6.5 percent between 2001/02 and 2010/11.
The reason for an increase in Indian Cashew demand
is attributed the continuous
supply of RCNs at affordable price; Tremendous entrepreneurial skills and
adaptability of the processors; Unprecedented increase in disposable income
thanks to a robust Gross Domestic Product growth; Stable and low real prices of
cashew kernel; Young population with women playing a more dominant role in the
family; Boom in organised retail and customer reach; Cultural diversity of the
India giving way to myriad opportunities in the form of year-round demand, among
other things.
Pix by CashewInfo.com |
“The growth momentum in Indian cashew demand
is expected to continue in future, as it is built on a strong foundation. The
quantum of growth is a function of steady availability and stable price
environment of cashew kernel,” Mr Srivatsava noted.
Nonetheless, he said Africa should never ignore plantation, the most
important source of competitiveness; Domestic consumption needs to be promoted.
It is a tremendous demand stabilizer; Leverage on existing infrastructure,
institutions, opportunities to market cashew in both the domestic and
international markets; and Local-specific processing technologies that leverage
on produce size, local employment and entrepreneurial aspirations would create
maximum impact and would also lead to creation of sustainable systems.
- Author: Modou S. Joof For The Voice Newspaper
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