This Country Product Spotlight is the sixth in a series of industry and market overviews in the Nutfruit magazine. This report provides a snapshot of the cashew industry in India, with data, analysis, and trends.

The cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is well recognized as one of the major horticultural crops and major foreign exchange earning commodities in India. Today, cashew is being grown in 19 states of India and provides substantial employment to more than 1.5 million people.

Cashews are one the most beloved nuts around the world. Known for their creamy and tasty attributes, they also come with a wide range of health benefits that consumers should know about!

This section examines new products using cashews that have been recently released.

Nuts are a core food which are recommended to be eaten regularly. However, research suggests that, on average, we currently don’t eat enough nuts at levels linked with health benefits.

"Coop Finland recently conducted a poll among their consumers and it showed that the top three concerns were plastic pollution, climate change, and biodiversity."

The Russian pine nut market is a rapidly developing branch of the national agricultural economy, currently shifting towards the manufacture and export of top-quality organic derived products with an exceptional set of nutritional substances and great benefits for the human body.

"We use almonds, hazelnuts, pecans and cashews all the time, as well as their oils."

Consumer habits have been severely impacted since the pandemic started and consumer behavior adapted to the circumstances dictated by COVID-19 restrictions and vaccination rates across countries. 18 months after the pandemic, we are already beginning to return to pre-pandemic lifestyles in some regions. Worldpanel, Kantar’s division experts on consumer behavior, have analyzed how consumers evolved during this period so we can anticipate what trends will stay once the pandemic is over.

Since the global pandemic started, there have been a wide array of challenges facing the sector, however, the future of the industry still looks positive and the positioning of nuts and dried fruits remains strong. The INC Executive Committee held a webinar to provide exclusive insights into the outlook for the industry.