In April to May every year, buyers from four to five States come to Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district to purchase raw cashew nuts in bulk from local middlemen and farmers. For this, they pay in cash.
This year, buyers are low in number because of the Model Code of Conduct that came into effect on March 18. Enforcement drives at check-posts by the Election Commission (EC) to control free flow of inducements such as cash for voters means the amount of money people can carry on their person is limited, until election results are declared.
As per the code, a person may have not more than ₹50,000 in cash, with proof of reason. Otherwise, the amount is seized by the enforcement staff. If caught, the seized cash must be proved to be for a valid reason, within 24 hours.
Election checks
“Buyers — both middlemen and farmers — who carry only cash from other States are afraid to come to our district due to the checks by the election staff. Mostly, they carry cash in lakhs, with denominations of ₹500, and they don’t like online or digital transactions. So, the seasonal purchasing of raw cashew nuts in our district has come to a standstill due to the elections,” said a middleman at Butchayyapeta mandal of the district.
According to cashew farmers, buyers from other States such as West Bengal, Kerala, and Odisha load raw nuts in trucks and cart them to their factories every year. Farmers source nuts from here because of the quality and an established supply chain, where food processors pay farmers some advance to book their produce. In neighbouring Srikakulam district, Palasa and Kalibugga have a large number of cashew processing units, which also source the nuts from Anakapalli.
A horticulture official, said, “The cashew orchards in the district are spread over about 66,000 acres this year, which is nearly 23-25% of the State’s cashew cultivation. Anakapalli district is famous for its cashew crops due to its climatic conditions. There are also local cashew kernel processing factories in the district.” He added that the area produces 5-10% of the country’s cashew.
Prices may be hit
The present price of raw cashew nut is between ₹9,000 and ₹12,000 per quintal, depending on the size and quality of the product, Chintala Somulu, a cashew farmer in Mutyalammapalem, said. He added that farmers would soon be forced to drop the prices.
Cashew cultivation has been promoted here since the 1980s by government institutions like the National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) due to favourable soil conditions and as part of afforestation efforts.