Kochi: The cashew industry, of late, has been exploring the possibilities of mechanisation to enhance labour efficiency and solve the problem of shortage in women workers. However, given the complex nature of the work involved, a full mechanisation does not seem to be practical and viable.
In fact, shortage of labour is felt only in the shelling section and that is mainly because a majority of the factories are still following the conventional method of roller roasting. If some sophistication is brought in, 90 per cent of the problem will be solved, said some of the processors.
Shelling methods
At present, women shell the kernel from the roasted raw nut by beating it with a short stick. This method, in existence for decades, is done by women workers who over the years have acquired the skill on this job. A shelling worker’s daily output, on an average, is 7 to 8 kgs of kernel.
An advanced method introduced in recent years in several factories is steam processing, under which the hard shells are softened and the kernel is extracted by cutting the shell using a manually operated mechanical system. Blades are adjusted in such a way that it does not touch the kernels. In this case, workers’ daily output is higher at 12 to 13 kg, which means an increase of 20 to 25 per cent in their daily wages.
With this method, the capacity utilisation of the factory can be enhanced, Babu Oommen, Managing Director of a major processing company at Puthoor village in Kerala’s Kollam district, told Business Line. He said that at present only 50 tonnes of raw nuts are processed in his unit daily for want of sufficient workers.
Mechanisation impact
If mechanisation is introduced in the shelling segment, 75 tonnes of raw nuts can be processed daily, he said. Thus, the capacity utilisation could be increased and that in turn will enhance the output of the workers, and consequently their daily wages.
Oommen, former Vice-Chairman of Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI), said that 1,875 workers are engaged daily in shelling work. Wages are linked to output which is Rs 13.06 a kg. Besides, each worker is entitled to Rs 12 as Dearness Allowance as well as ESI, PF, welfare bonus, and paid leave among others, he said.
The industry can easily afford to purchase cutting machines, he said.
Most of the factories in the Mangalore region are operating on the semi-mechanised steam process; there too mechanisation has been introduced only in the “cutting/shelling” segment.
According to Santhosh Kumar, who represents a major processing factory in the outskirts of the cashew city of Kollam, mechanisation in the next two stages of processing, viz., peeling and grading, does not seem to be necessary as there is no shortage of workers in these sectors. Besides, it is also not practical, he said.
According to Anu S. Pillai, another major processor, peeling (removal of thin skin from the kernel) is done by skilled workers. Since it is done manually, damage to the kernel is much less. Mechanisation in this segment requires more research so as to achieve higher sophistication and to minimise broken kernels, he added.
The cashew industry in Brazil is almost fully mechanised, as are some factories in Vietnam, Dinesh Chandran, another processor, said.
An important option
G. Krishnan Nair said that mechanisation should be an important option wherever needed in order to enhance the efficiency of the workers and benefit the industry. Increase in productivity by ensuring quality of the kernel would make the product competitive besides fetching a premium price.
However, Dr K.A. Ratheesh, Managing Director, Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC), disagreed with mechanisation as he felt that the taste of the kernel processed using the traditional methods of roasting and shelling is better than that produced using the steam process.
Indian brand name
Besides, he is of the view that mechanisation will not enhance profitability and feels that the industry should concentrate on diversified value addition to the kernels and market them in the global market under an Indian brand name instead of exporting it in bulk form. The cost for processing a bag (80 kg) of raw nuts would come to Rs 1,300 and the recovery rate of kernel is 20 to 25 per cent.
New technology
According to Dr V.P. Potti, Principal Scientist and head of the CEPCI Quality Assurance Laboratory, mechanisation of the entire processing method is possible with new technology. Therefore, improving the conventional method followed here for decades is the need of the hour, he said, and called for advanced technology to ensure the quality of the end product is in line with international standards.
The old “oil roasting method” that was used here for decades has been lost to Vietnam now, he pointed out.
In fact, shortage of labour is felt only in the shelling section and that is mainly because a majority of the factories are still following the conventional method of roller roasting. If some sophistication is brought in, 90 per cent of the problem will be solved, said some of the processors.
Shelling methods
At present, women shell the kernel from the roasted raw nut by beating it with a short stick. This method, in existence for decades, is done by women workers who over the years have acquired the skill on this job. A shelling worker’s daily output, on an average, is 7 to 8 kgs of kernel.
An advanced method introduced in recent years in several factories is steam processing, under which the hard shells are softened and the kernel is extracted by cutting the shell using a manually operated mechanical system. Blades are adjusted in such a way that it does not touch the kernels. In this case, workers’ daily output is higher at 12 to 13 kg, which means an increase of 20 to 25 per cent in their daily wages.
With this method, the capacity utilisation of the factory can be enhanced, Babu Oommen, Managing Director of a major processing company at Puthoor village in Kerala’s Kollam district, told Business Line. He said that at present only 50 tonnes of raw nuts are processed in his unit daily for want of sufficient workers.
Mechanisation impact
If mechanisation is introduced in the shelling segment, 75 tonnes of raw nuts can be processed daily, he said. Thus, the capacity utilisation could be increased and that in turn will enhance the output of the workers, and consequently their daily wages.
Oommen, former Vice-Chairman of Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI), said that 1,875 workers are engaged daily in shelling work. Wages are linked to output which is Rs 13.06 a kg. Besides, each worker is entitled to Rs 12 as Dearness Allowance as well as ESI, PF, welfare bonus, and paid leave among others, he said.
The industry can easily afford to purchase cutting machines, he said.
Most of the factories in the Mangalore region are operating on the semi-mechanised steam process; there too mechanisation has been introduced only in the “cutting/shelling” segment.
According to Santhosh Kumar, who represents a major processing factory in the outskirts of the cashew city of Kollam, mechanisation in the next two stages of processing, viz., peeling and grading, does not seem to be necessary as there is no shortage of workers in these sectors. Besides, it is also not practical, he said.
According to Anu S. Pillai, another major processor, peeling (removal of thin skin from the kernel) is done by skilled workers. Since it is done manually, damage to the kernel is much less. Mechanisation in this segment requires more research so as to achieve higher sophistication and to minimise broken kernels, he added.
The cashew industry in Brazil is almost fully mechanised, as are some factories in Vietnam, Dinesh Chandran, another processor, said.
An important option
G. Krishnan Nair said that mechanisation should be an important option wherever needed in order to enhance the efficiency of the workers and benefit the industry. Increase in productivity by ensuring quality of the kernel would make the product competitive besides fetching a premium price.
However, Dr K.A. Ratheesh, Managing Director, Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC), disagreed with mechanisation as he felt that the taste of the kernel processed using the traditional methods of roasting and shelling is better than that produced using the steam process.
Indian brand name
Besides, he is of the view that mechanisation will not enhance profitability and feels that the industry should concentrate on diversified value addition to the kernels and market them in the global market under an Indian brand name instead of exporting it in bulk form. The cost for processing a bag (80 kg) of raw nuts would come to Rs 1,300 and the recovery rate of kernel is 20 to 25 per cent.
New technology
According to Dr V.P. Potti, Principal Scientist and head of the CEPCI Quality Assurance Laboratory, mechanisation of the entire processing method is possible with new technology. Therefore, improving the conventional method followed here for decades is the need of the hour, he said, and called for advanced technology to ensure the quality of the end product is in line with international standards.
The old “oil roasting method” that was used here for decades has been lost to Vietnam now, he pointed out.
No comments:
Post a Comment