UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES,DHARWAD

College of Forestry, Sirsi-581 401

Department of Forest Products and Utilization

report

on

Processing and Marketing of Cashew

Under the course

NoN Wood Forest products MaNageMeNt

Fpu 501
Semester: I
Year: 2022-23

Submitted To,

Dr. Hanumantha. M.
Assistant Professor
(Forest Products and Utilization)

Submitted By,

Chethan. B. L.
Shashank. H. R.
(Jnr M.Sc. Forestry)
 Prajwal Cashew Industries, Bedasgaon

Introduction

The cashew tree, native to Brazil, was introduced to

Mozambique and then India in the sixteenth century by the Portuguese,
as a means of controlling coastal erosion. It was spread within these
countries with the aid of elephants that ate the bright cashew fruit along
with the attached nut. Cashew nut is one of the important nuts grown in
the world and ranked first. Among various nuts such as hazelnuts,
almonds, etc., cashew nut enjoys an unenviable position and it is an
unavoidable snack in all important social functions especially in the
western countries.
The nut was too hard to digest and was later expelled with the
droppings. It was not until the nineteenth century that plantations were
developed and the tree then spread to a number of other countries in
Africa, Asia and Latin America. Cashew processing, using manual
techniques, was started in India in the first half of the twentieth century.
It was exported from there to the wealthy western markets, particularly
the United States. Portuguese travellers took the cashew tree to colonies
in India [first recorded in Cochin by 1578, in Goa by 1598, (Smith et al.,
1992)] and Africa from where they spread more widely.
 Importance
The cashew industry ranks third in the world production of
edible nuts with world production in 2000 at about 2 million tonnes of
nuts-in-shell and an estimated value in excess of US$2 billion. India
and Brazil are the major cashew exporters, with 60 percent and 31
percent respectively of world market share. The major importers are the
United States (55%), the Netherlands (10 %), Germany (7%), Japan
(5%) and the United Kingdom (5%).
Cashews are rich in fiber, protein, and healthy fats. They also contain a
variety of vitamins, minerals, and health-protective beneficial plant
compounds. Similarly to nuts, cashews may promote weight loss, blood
sugar control, and heart health.

Opportunities for Small scale Industries

 Cashew kernels are a high value luxury commodity with sales
growing steadily that the market will remain strong.
 There is substantial potential to exploit cashew by-products, such as
cashew butter, from broken nuts and medicinal purposes and the juice of
the cashew apple that can be processed further.
 Cashew is a good crop for small holder farmers.Cashew is considered
by smallholder farmers to be one of their most lucrative crops. It requires
few inputs and harvesting does not coincide with peak labour demands
for other food crops.
Harvesting and Processing
1.Shelling: removal of the outer shell
2.Peeling: removal of the testa
3.Grading:into different sizes and colours in accordance with standard
grading
4.Drying or humidifying: Drying can be done through steam engine of
120-130 pressure was passed.
5.Packing: into airtight bags or cans, depending upon the scale of
operation

In Prajwal Cashew Industries, Bedasgaon Raw material were

brought from Indonesia, Tanzania, Ghana, Vietnam, Haveri, Dharwad etc
1. Nut harvesting
A. Allow fruits to drop to the ground before picking.
B. Collect fruits at least every three days. Leaving the nuts
uncollected on hotter days lowers the quality.

2. Handling of nuts
Neatly detach the apple completely from the nut, using a nylon thread
or sharp knife. The quality of the nut is affected when the apple is not
neatly detached from the nut.
Air-dry collected nuts on concrete floors, drying mats or
tarpaulins under shade for 3 to 4 days.
Turn nuts frequently during the drying period to ensure uniform
drying.
Avoid drying indoors, or on metallic surfaces or directly in
scorching sun since the quality of the nuts will deteriorate. Well-dried
nuts produce a rattling sound when turned on the drying floor.
Remove and discard immature, diseased, damaged nuts along
with any foreign matter when drying

3.Storage of nuts
Store well-dried nuts in jute sacks, (no plastic or fertilizer
sacks containers like boxes, buckets, etc).
Stitch jute sacks tightly to avoid spillage. Place the jute sacks
on wooden pallets in a dry, well-ventilated leak proof room.Sell nuts
within the same year of harvest to prevent loss in quantity.
Different grades of cashew nuts:
 There are 40 different grades made in Prakash cashew industries
based on size,color,etc .
 Highest quality was “W180”(Whole 180) which cost 1800 Rs/Kg.
 High graded in case of half was “JH”(Jambo Half)
 Least graded was “OW”which cost around 100 Rs/Kg.
 Highest sold was “W320”which cost 760 Rs/Kg.
 Some important grade name in Industries includes:
JH=Jumbo half
K=Cutting
S=Silky white
Pw=Pointed white
Bw=Bluish white
Dw=Dull white
Rw=Reddish white
 Harvested Cashew nuts Nuts placed in dryer for 1.5 hrs
with 700 C

70 °C in °F?

Separation of nuts Manual Cutting of nuts

Nuts separation by usage of Grading

machine
 Packing Storage

Industrial visit to Prajwal Cashew Industries, Bedasgaon