Kalbavi Prakash Rao, convener of the Summit, said that about 300 cashew processing units in Karnataka have provided employment to 70,000 labourers, mainly women.
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Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers’ Association (KCMA) will organise a cashew expo during the three-day ‘Kaju Centennial Summit – 2025’, which begins at TMA Pai International Convention Centre in Mangaluru from November 14, according to Kalbavi Prakash Rao, convener of the Summit and a former president of KCMA.
Addressing the press here on Friday, he said that there will be 120 stalls which will showcase cutting-edge cashew processing technology, machinery from India and Vietnam, and innovative product lines.
Mr. Kalbavi said that about 300 cashew processing units in Karnataka have provided employment to 70,000 labourers, mainly women. “The units did not retrench employees when going for mechanisation, which involved switching from manual processing to automation,” he said.
“Seven labourers were required to process one bag (80 kg) of cashew manually. With automation, one labourer was enough to process one bag of cashew. Yet we (cashew manufacturers) did not remove workers from their jobs. Even after automation, the same number of workers are continuing in the units. However, new labourers are not joining the units since many youngsters are now choosing IT and other jobs,” Mr. Kalbavi added.
He further said that cashew units, along with beedi and tiles factories, were the traditional industries that provided employment to many persons in the coastal region. Cashew units in Karnataka now process about five lakh tonnes of cashew.
Demand for split kernels
He said that there is growing demand from consumers for split cashew kernels instead of whole kernels. But India does not have surplus cashew production to increase exports, which now stand at about 50,000 tonnes per annum.
Conference themes
Mr. Kalbavi said that experts at the summit will deliberate on emerging global market trends, shifting demand from traditional trade to e-commerce and quick commerce, marketing strategies to boost domestic consumption growth from 7-8% to 12-13% annually, and achieving 2.5 million tonnes of production by 2030.
Distribution of seedlings
A.K. Rao, president, KCMA, said that the KCMA in association with Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP), Vijayalaxmi Foundation, and Udupi Pejawar Mutt, distributed 13 lakh grafted cashew seedlings to farmers free of cost over the last nine years under the ‘Vriksha Raksha Vishwa Raksha’ project. “They are worth about ₹6 crore,” he said, adding that the survival rate of those seedlings was at 80% to 85%. Another two lakh seedlings will be distributed this year.
“It has been proposed to plant about 2.5 million to three lakh million cashew saplings in Karnataka by 2030 under the project, adding 20,000 tonnes of raw cashew production to the State,” Mr. Rao added.
The summit will be held to celebrate 100 years of cashew processing in Mangaluru.
Published – November 07, 2025 07:17 pm IST
