Times of India | 2 days ago | 24-09-2022 | 07:40 am
Panaji: The Goa Cashew Manufacturers Association (GCMA) and the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries (GCCI) have both written to the chief minister demanding that the 1% cess reintroduced on purchase and import of raw cashew within Goa be immediately rolled back. Over the last two decades, the number of cashew processing units in Goa have come down from 40 to just 8 to 10. With the cess reintroduced, cashew processing industry in Goa may completely shut, the GCMA has said.“Goan cashew industry has gone through a catastrophic phase in the past two decades, due to higher labour costs and higher rates of local raw cashew. The state, which had 40 operating cashew processing units in 2005, today has only 8-10 operational units. This 1% additional charge might lead to further closure of the industry in Goa, not to mention the implications it will have on the local raw cashew rates leading to major farmer distress,” GCMA president Rohit Zantye said.PM Narendra Modi introduced the 2020 Farm Laws, as per which the Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act was amended. This allowed farmers to sell their commodities outside APMC yards in order to fetch better remunerative prices.Accordingly, the Goa government had notified removal of the APMC cess of 1% on purchase and import of raw cashew within Goa (except for purchase within market yard). However, the state during the recent monsoon assembly session has reintroduced APMC cess on purchase of raw cashewnuts.“The reintroduction of 1% cess would not only defeat the very purpose of the amendments made to the APMC Act, it would also make cashew processing unviable in Goa as neighbouring states of Maharashtra and Karnataka have negligible or no such charges,” said Zantye.The local cashew processing industry has already provided advances to the farmers to meet pre-harvesting expenses and also for participation in auction for the right to harvest in forest area, he said. “Cashew processing in Goa, which is a heritage Goan industry, has been reeling under extreme pressure to the extent of total closure in the state as financial incentives for the business become more viable in neighbouring state of Maharashtra. This added APMC cess will be an immense blow to the already struggling sector. GCMA recommends a total rollback of the 1% cess being introduced on cashew,” Zantye said.The reintroduction of the 1% market fee on raw cashews purchased outside market yard will increase the cost of cashew processing and put Goan cashew processors at a serious disadvantage, said GCCI, in a separate representation.“The 1% fee makes the local product uncompetitive as compared to the neighbouring states. There is already a huge gap between the total production of cashew nuts as against the industry’s requirement. There is also stiff competition from African and East Asian countries, which offer highly competitive rates in the international markets,” GCCI president Ralph de Sousa said.
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