The Tamil Nadu Cashew Processors and Exporters’ Association (TNCPEA) has urged the government to abolish the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) cess on cashews to ensure a level-playing field for the traders.
In a memorandum addressed to Neyveli MLA Saba Rajendran, the secretary of the association, M. Ramakrishnan, said that the crisis-hit cashew industry was already struggling to stay afloat due to stiff competition from Vietnam which had been offering competitive prices in the International markets.
He said the total production of raw cashew nuts in the State was around 35,000 tonnes per annum, as against the cashew manufacturing industry’s requirement of 4 lakh tonnes per annum. To meet this shortfall, Tamil Nadu was importing raw cashew nuts from East and West Africa, to ensure round-the-year employment to the workforce of cashew manufacturing units and to sustain their operations.
