CEPCI press release

Kovalam, Sep 16: The first-ever International Buyer Seller Meet organized by the Council as part of its Golden Jubilee Celebrations got underway at the Leela Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram on September 15.

Inaugurating the programme, union minister of state for commerce and industry Jairam Ramesh, complimented the CEPCI for organizing an event of this scale and stressed the necessity to have such meets at least on a biannual basis. He said the Government was focusing on the cashew industry not merely for its export performance but for the huge employment potential that it is generating today. He said that the Government was seized of the fact that cashew industry was generating over one million employments, mainly women from weaker section of the society even though cashew exports constitute a small percentage in total export basket of India. 

Union minister Jairam Ramesh addresses the gathering

He also mentioned that there is a lot to be done in changing the mindset of the consumers that Cashews are only a snack food. He stressed the need for Research & Development in this field and assured all support to the industry in establishing the R & D Centre at Kollam at a cost of Rs.6 crore. He also said that it is time now for Indian Cashews to find its place in the supermarket shelves in overseas markets and time to come out with the “Made in India “ brands. He said that he would look into the proposals submitted by the Council for assistance in this regard. He also assured the industry on granting the “Town of Excellence” status to Kollam to extend the incentives allowed with this scheme in the Foreign Trade policy.

Chairman of the Golden Jubilee Celebration Committee Pratap R Nair welcomed the gathering.  Council chairman Walter D’ Souza in his address on the theme of celebrating 100 years of Cashew trade and 50 years of the Cashew Council, highlighted as to how this industry has empowered the farmers, the traders, and the workers in these Golden years. He also paid tribute to the past chairmen for their contribution and their foresight in leading the Council to where it is today and assured the minister of taking India to greater hights in the global cashew trade.

Kerala minister for labour, excise and cashew P K Gurudasan was the guest of honour at the function. 

Kollam's Lok Sabha member P Rajendran, in his felicitation address,  mentioned that the cashew industry got a raw deal from the government till now, but under the present leadership of union commerce minister Kamal Nathand minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh, things would change and the industry would get its due recognition for its contribution to our economy.

John Peterson, Director, Kraft Foods, U.S.A and the biggest global buyer for Cashews gave the “Buyers’ perspective of “Indian Cashews – Vision 2020”. He said that the Indian Cashew community had the unique distinction of being the world’s biggest processor, importer, exporter and consumer in the world. He said India must be consistent in its performance of contracts and quality of the cashews supplied and provide the leadership to the world by adding value to the entire cashew supply chain.

CEPCI vice chairman Babu Oommen proposed the vote of thanks.