MANGALORE: The "Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers' Association" (KCMA) will hold a four-day "Kaju fest" at Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore from Friday to mark the conclusion of the year-long golden jubilee celebration of the KCMA.

Making the announcement at a press conference here on Tuesday, KCMA president Prakash Kalbavi said encouraging developments had persuaded the industry to launch efforts to expand the market for cashew. Bangalore was an ideal location to initiate the efforts, and the "Kaju fest" was the first campaign of its kind. Nearly 30,000 visitors were expected, and the KCMA hoped the fest would help widen the consumer base for cashew, he added.

Competition

As part of the fest, cookery competitions, "Swad Kaju Ka", would be conducted for contestants in three categories — housewives, students of catering institutes and chefs. The competitions would serve to popularise the use of cashew in the preparation of dishes, Mr. Kalbavi said. He said the KCMA was giving attention to value addition to cashew. Experts participating in brainstorming sessions at the fest would examine new ways of adding value to products, he added.

Value of trade

Former KCMA president Giridhar S. Prabhu said the cashew trade in the country was estimated at Rs. 5,000 crore. The association's "Vision 2020" aimed at making Karnataka the largest producer of cashew in the country. The target was to increase production to two lakh tonnes, he said.

He said efforts were being made to find ways of commercially exploiting cashew apple juice.

Nutrition experts had found that cashew apple contained nutrients including vitamin C. Nutrient supplements from cashew apple were being made in Goa, where a special excise rebate on cashew apple syrup had been introduced. The KCMA and the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India would appeal to the Commerce Ministry to extend the rebate to Karnataka, he added.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail