Effective Utilization Of Cashew Apple Suggested

Mangalore: Effective use of around 40 lakh tonnes of cashew apple, which is going waste every year, came up for discussion at the two-day national seminar on cashew at Raipur in Chhattisgarh last week. Conducted by the Directorate of Horticulture of Government of Chhattisgarh, the Directorate of Cashewnut and Cocoa Development and the Chhattisgarh Ministry of Agriculture, the seminar was attended by representatives from the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI). It was informed that Goa is the only State where cashew apples are being gainfully utilised to make feni, a distilled alcoholic liquor. CEPCI will request the Centre to persuade the governments of the cashew-producing states to exempt production of feni from cashew apples outside the ambit of excise laws. All the concerned will be requested to organise national-level meetings, at least once every year, so that the stakeholders could have a common platform for discussing and resolving issues.