Market Commentary from experts : Indian Cashew Market Commentary
Sri. Pankaj Sampat, SAMSONS TRADING CO, Mumbai


Cashew market was steady in week 24. Fair amount

of business was done to several markets. Prices were

more or less unchanged – W240 around 3.15, W320

around 2.95, W450 around 2.80 FOB. As usual, some

processors sold at lower levels and some were able to

sell at higher levels. Indian domestic market moved

up a bit on broken grades, but no much on wholes.

There was not much activity in the RCN market.

Traders are selling small lots, holding on for their

prices (close to 1100 for Bissau and around 900 for

IVC). As there is not much good quality stock available

with origin suppliers, processors who have not

bought enough are paying the higher prices. As shipments

have been slow, it is still not possible to have

realistic estimate of the shortage but we feel that

it will be near the lower end of the trade estimates

(ranging from 7 to 12%).

As mentioned in earlier reports, despite a long period

of inactivity, there has not been any big selling

pressure that we normally see when market is quiet

for even couple of weeks. Although some processors

did sell at lower levels, larger proportion seems to

be willing to wait & make sales when some buyers

came in to pay the levels they wanted. Reduced kernel

availability and the continued nearby buying by

some market or the other gives processors the comfort

of being able to sell when they want to.

On the buying side, there still does not seem to be

confi dence amongst buyers to build inventory or forward

positions. They are content to buy limited volumes

on hand to mouth basis. This means that there

is some buying interest almost always. Although the

fact of reduced availability is accepted by all stakeholders,

buyers do not seem to fear any big squeeze.

Currency volatility + fi nancial constraints + recent

developments in other nuts is making people more

cautious. We see these external reasons as the only

bearish factor in the market.

Currently, there seems to be fair amount of buying

interest in the middle of 2.80-3.00 range with buying

resistance when prices come close to 3.00 and selling reluctance when prices drop close to 2.80.


As we enter the peak Asian consumption period, we

can reasonably expect fi rmness in the market & increased

volatility due to the spot buying nature of

these markets. If there is need for any large contracting

in this period, we could see prices break the

current range.