Silvester D’Souza

Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapura (MS)

Kundapura, Aug 10: Shivamogga MP B Y Raghavendra has appealed to union finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman to respond to the issues faced by cashewnut industry of coastal Karnataka.

Raghavendra met the union minister in New Delhi on Thursday, August 10, and submitted an appeal. He drew the attention of the minister towards the two EMI loads faced by the industry.

In his letter, Raghavendra has mentioned that coastal Karnataka is the centre of cashewnut industry which provides employment to more than 1.5 lac people in the rural areas. However, after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, the units are facing problems in repaying loans. The import of low quality raw cashewnut has also put the industry in further trouble.

The repayment of working capital term loan should be suspended for at least 18 months. He said the repayment period and the guaranteed emergency credit line should be extended till the end of repayment of EMIs, he said. As the cashew industry is already facing a financial crisis, the rate of interest on working capital should be reduced, he added.