For the first time, Kerala Cashew Board Limited (KCB) will procure raw cashew nuts from other Indian states instead of African countries.

The state government has granted permission to KCB to purchase raw cashew nuts through Farmers Producer Organizations (FPO)/co-operative societies from other states in the country.

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KCB was established by the government as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with the main objective of procuring raw cashew nuts from within and outside India and making them available to various cashew processing units in the State.

Currently, KCB imports nuts from foreign countries, especially cashew-producing African nations. The imported nuts are supplied to Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) Ltd and Kerala State Cashew Workers Apex Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd (CAPEX) for the operation of 40 cashew processing units.

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In a meeting chaired by the Minister for Industries in October 2023, it was resolved to explore the opportunity of procuring raw cashew nuts from other states in the country. "The indigenous cashew nuts have better quality. That's we have decided to explore purchase from a few states. Our annual requirement is 30000 metric tons to ensure 300 days of work for over 15,000 employees in 40 factories in Kollam.

"Our average procurement comes to around 12,000-14,000 metric tons. We will issue tenders for procuring raw cashew nuts from other states soon," said A Alexander, Chairman & Managing director, KCB. With some of the countries like Ivory Coast promoting supply to home-based industries, KCB had to deal with delay in supply last year.

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