Market Trends of India Cashew Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the India Cashew Market according to our research experts:
Increasing Demand for Healthy Cashew Snacks
- Edible cashews have been used as a snack for many years in the country, and it has also been used as one of the main ingredients in sweets and cooking, especially in Asian cuisine. Cashews are also increasingly used as a constituent in muesli, energy bars, cookies, chocolate, and ice creams. Cashews are known to be high in nutrients, such as copper, which improve bone health in humans, as one ounce of cashew contains 622 micrograms of copper.
- Furthermore, cashews are relatively high in fiber compared with peanuts, which helps gain a healthy weight by improving digestive function. The nutritional benefits also extend to a high iron and magnesium content in cashews compared to peanuts, which enhance the enzymatic reactions in the body. Such high-value nutrition has prompted snack manufacturers in India to launch several cashew-based snacks to meet the demand, such as ready-to-drink cashew milk, which acts as a lactose-free milk substitute.
- In addition, cashews are high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and are a good source of protein. This rich fat content of cashews makes them a seamless substitute for heavy cream, as it is increasingly used in a variety of sweet or savory dishes as a healthy vegan alternative to heavy whipping cream in the country.
- According to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, the risk of coronary heart disease can be reduced by 37% in people who consume nuts more than four times a week. With such results, it is expected that more cashew may be used to manufacture snack bars, which are a healthy alternative to high-calorie chocolate bars.
- Hence, due to the increasing consumption of various cashew-based snacks and ready-to-eat foods in the country, the India Cashew Market is anticipated to grow during the forecast period.
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Increase in Production Capacities
- In India, cashew cultivation spread along the coastal regions of the peninsula. Cashew is mainly grown in states like Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Odisha, West Bengal, and some parts of the North-Eastern region.
- Besides the vast scale of cashew production, India is also known for pioneering cashew processing and exporting cashew kernels globally. The cashew processing industry was concentrated in Goa, and Vettapalam (Andhra Pradesh), Kollam (Kerala), Mangalore (Karnataka), but currently, it is spread across many states of India. Over the years, India has emerged as the global processing hub for the cashew industry.
- Goa has about 30-odd units that are equally divided into large and small production units of cashew. While there are some cashew exporters, like Ajanta Industries and Zantye Cashew, most of the established processing units prefer to cater to the domestic market. Thus, the production of raw cashew is increasing with rising processing units.
- To keep up with the rise in the domestic and export demands for cashew (the country is the largest cashew consumer worldwide and second-largest exporter of cashew kernels), Indian companies have recently invested in purchasing large plantations as financing and management of processing facilities in Africa.
