TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Considering that local traders are forced to import raw nuts from African countries, due to shortfall, despite Goa being one of the largest producers of cashew nuts in India, the State government has proposed to impose a ban on interstate sale of nuts and allow export only if the production figures cross 25000 tonnes.
The government has also proposed to provide 25% subsidy for automation of cashew industries and 5% tax reimbursement if cashews are sold outside the State to incentivise the industry.
The State government’s draft ‘Goa Investment Policy 2013’, proposes to restrict the sale of cashew nuts produced outside Goa, presuming that local produce is sufficient to cater to the needs of the State.
“The cashew crop in Goa is sufficient to cater to local producers’ needs. However, industrialists from neighbouring States are procuring seeds and hardly 50 percent is available to local consumers. As a result, there is shortage of local nuts to Goan producers, which compels them to import raw nut from African countries. These nuts are processed and sold in Goan market, which in turn affects the Goan brand of cashew nuts,” the policy, which will be put in the public domain shortly, reads.
In a bid to upscale production, the draft policy states that the introduction of Support Price Scheme has led farmers to make minimum efforts to retrieve maximum dropped nuts and has therefore suggested that a farmer has to have a minimum production to qualify for the support price. Government has fixed minimum support price for nuts to the farmers, which is limited to Rs 90 per kg in 2012 from its base price of Rs 50 to Rs 60.
“The farmers leave quite good quantity nuts on the ground without retrieving. This has resulted in a drop in supply of nuts. Thus, in the interest of processors as well as farmers, the minimum quantum of nuts will be set to qualify the farmers to avail support price,” the policy document added.
The draft policy also proposes to reimburse tax benefit upto 5 percent to Goan cashew manufacturers who sell cashews outside Goa. “The cashew nut market outside Goa is subject to minimum 5 percent local tax, which is reimbursed by the respective States which is otherwise not available to Goan cashew manufacturers seeking markets in other States, which makes their products costly,” it stated.
Keeping in view that automation of cashew units is the only option for its survival following labour shortage, the government proposes 25 percent additional subsidy for automation of manufacturing process.