Cashew exporters view the new Foreign Trade Policy as a major blow to
the industry. They feel the reduction of incentives available to cashew
exports under Chapter 3 of the Foreign Trade Policy from 5 per cent to 2
per cent as the main reason for this.
Walter D’Souza, former president of the Cashew Export Promotion
Council of India, told BusinessLine that scaling down of Chapter 3
benefits such as Vishesh Krishi Grameen Upaj Yojana (VKGUY) by 3 per
cent under the new name of Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS)
will have far reaching repercussions on exports.
Advantage Vietnam
Explaining this, K Prakash Rao of Kalbavi
Cashews (an exporter from Mangaluru), said India has already lost the
world’s largest cashew exporter tag to Vietnam.