Cashew

Origin & story

The tree is native to north-eastern Brazil and reached India with Portuguese traders in the 16th century, Goa being an early foothold. It was planted along the west coast partly to bind loose sandy and lateritic soils against monsoon erosion. From Goa it spread down the Konkan and Malabar coasts that flank the Western Ghats, and across to the east-coast belt of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu.

How it grows

The nut is the true fruit, a curved drupe that hangs below the swollen, fleshy cashew apple. Processing starts with drying the raw nuts, then roasting or steam-conditioning the shell so it releases its caustic liquid and cracks cleanly. Workers shell the nuts, dry them, peel off the reddish testa, then grade the kernels by size and colour before packing, often vacuum- or gas-flushed in tins. The dark shell liquid drawn off during roasting is collected and sold as CNSL rather than thrown away.

For growers

Cashew is a coastal-tropical crop that does well on poor, well-drained laterite and sandy soils where little else pays, and it tolerates heat and dry spells once established. On the west coast trees typically flower in the cooler months and nuts are gathered later in the dry season; grafted trees start bearing within a few years and yields build as the trees mature. The tea mosquito bug is a major pest, striking tender flush and flower panicles, while the cashew stem and root borer can kill neglected trees. Konkan and coastal-Karnataka growers use released varieties such as the Vengurla series (Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth) and ICAR-DCR Puttur selections like Bhaskara and the newer Nethra types, bred for laterite soils and humid, high-rainfall coasts.

Grades & quality

Whole kernels are graded by count per pound: W-180 and W-210 are the large premium "super" grades, W-240 and W-320 are common everyday grades, and W-450 the smallest wholes. Below the wholes sit the broken grades — splits, butts, pieces and small pieces — which sell cheaper into confectionery and food manufacturing. Buyers check kernel colour (clean white versus scorched or dessert grades), the percentage of brokens, moisture, and food-safety parameters. Indian export grades follow the CEPC specifications.

Uses & applications

The kernel is eaten roasted and salted, ground into rich curry gravies and mithai like kaju katli, baked into sweets, and pressed into cashew butter and cashew-based dairy alternatives. CNSL is the industrial star among the by-products: distilled to cardanol, it goes into brake and clutch friction linings, paints and varnishes, phenalkamine epoxy curing agents, laminates and surfactants, valued as a bio-based phenol. The cashew apple is turned into juice, syrup, wine, vinegar and, in Goa, the distilled spirit feni; much of the apple still goes unused because it is perishable and astringent.

For buyers & the trade

India is among the world's largest cashew processors and a leading exporter of kernels, though Vietnam now competes hard on volume. Because domestic RCN covers only a fraction of installed shelling capacity, processors import heavily — chiefly from West and East Africa — a supply that is tightening as African countries process more at home. Kollam in Kerala is a historic processing and export centre, with coastal Karnataka, Goa and the east coast adding further capacity. What moves a deal is grade and count, kernel colour, brokens, moisture and clean food-safety results (aflatoxin and pesticide residues), with prices swinging on global RCN availability.

Frequently asked