Bhubaneswar, Nov 24: Odisha exported two tonnes of premium quality cashew nuts for the first time to Bangladesh on Thursday, on the occasion of National Cashew Day.
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry facilitated the shipment from the state. The consignment was exported by Paaf Global Pvt Ltd. The cashew nuts were sourced from ‘Passion Gourmet’, a company run by a dynamic woman entrepreneur in the state.
The shipment was flagged off by principal secretary of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment department Arabinda Padhee and principal secretary of MSME department Saswat Mishra.
As per the exporter, subsequent shipments of cashew nuts from Odisha are being planned for some other global destinations including Bahrain and Qatar.
According to Odisha Cashew Development Corporation sources, cashew is grown in 2.23 lakh hectares of land in the state, including 60,000 hectares of government land. The state is producing 1.40 metric tones of cashew nuts and 500 processing units are running successfully.
The soil and environment of Koraput, Ganjam and other south Odisha districts are beneficial for cashew farming. It is time to promote cashew farming in the state with proper planning. The state government is providing subsidy to cashew growers.
