This year’s World Cashew Congress will be held in Kochi from 23 February. Organising the event, The Cashew Export Promotion Council of India expects to welcome over 300 delegates, including cabinet ministers from the Ivory Coast and Tanzania, to address the issues surrounding this major agricultural commodity and focus on the role of the Indian cashew industry in the international arena.
During the 1999-2000 season in India, cashew nut exports represented 16.3% of total agricultural exports and became the second highest agricultural commodity earner, bringing in US$52.73m. A current fall in prices has seriously affected earnings however, and Kerala industries minister Susheela Gopalan, who will be inaugurating the congress, is hoping to focus attention on remedying this problem.
