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Dynamics of Cashew Nut Processing and Packaging
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Sunday, 01 January, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Dr Parashram J Patil
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India has certain important horticulture crops which contribute to Indian agriculture economy. Cashew is a versatile crop, which mainly belongs to rural community. India has suitable geographical conditions for cashew cultivation, hence it is one of the largest cashew producing countries in the world. Cashew production mainly happens in India in and around Western Ghats. Endowed with numerous agriculture and natural resources, the area counts cashew as an important agri resource. It is like ‘white gold’ for the local people. It has made systematic effort for development of cashew in India. Separate infrastructure for cashew research and extension has been developed due to which cashew production has improved in India tremendously. Indian cashew is known worldwide for its excellent quality. India being leader in cashew production, it is also world’s largest producer, processor and exporter of cashew kernels.
India’s Export of Cashew Kernel: Cashew nut industry has big export potential, which is improving the prospects of the industry.
The Table 1 clears the whole picture of the Indian cashew kernel export:
India is the second-largest exporter of cashew kernels in the world. Table 1 shows the growth of cashew kernel export. The cumulative growth rate of cashew nut production in respect of quantity of export and value of export is (238.55%) and (1128.48%) respectively. It indicates that India has been making progress in the cashew export sector over a period of time. India has potential to become world leader of cashew export. The export of cashew kernels gives valuable foreign exchange to the Government of India. The growth of cashew kernel exports seems satisfactory.
India’s Export of Cashew nuts Shell Liquid: The industry has many business dimensions. The export of cashew nut shell liquid is one of the important dimensions. The Table focusses on the particular issue:
Cashew-Nut Shell Liquid Oil (CNSL) is an important by-product of cashew. It has huge export potential due to its distinct characteristics. Table 2 reveals the growth of CNSL export. The cumulative growth rate of cashew nut production in respect of quantity of export and value of export is (193%), (241%) respectively. It shows export of CNSL has been making progress over a period of time. India earns valuable foreign exchange by making export of CNSL. The growth of export seems good and is increasing continuously.
India’s Cashew Export Market: India’s cashew export is very large. It is spread almost throughout the world. This spread indicates depth of India’s cashew export market that makes the Indian cashew nut industry a leader of world cashew economy.
Table 3 explains the depth of India’s cashew export market and how it is spread across the world. It also reveals the export potential and availability of export market for India cashew nut industry which needs to explore. It also shows that American and European countries are largely importing cashew kernel from India. It means India has strong presence in their cashew market.
India’s Cashew-Nut Shell Liquid Oil Export Market: Along with quality cashew kernel, Indian cashew nut industry is producing quality Cashew-Nut Shell Liquid oil which is also exportable. Indian cashew nut industry has big market for CNSL.
Table 4 explains India’s market for CNSL. India is also having very good market for CNSL, which enhances the prospects of Indian cashew nut industry as well as India’s cashew exports sector. CNSL oil is used in industries hence there is good demand from industrially developed countries. USA and China are the top most importers of Indian Cashew-Nut Shell Liquid oil.
Cashew Processing Methodology: Cashew processing is the systematic activity involving many processes. Over a period of time there has been improvement in cashew processing machinery and technology. Initially cashew processing was totally manual because of which there was big loss of cashew kernel. But with commercialisation of cashew nut industry, there are many innovations in cashew processing machinery which produce quality cashew kernel. This article is focussed on cashew processing and packaging machinery. Following are the details on cashew processing machinery and technology:
(1) Cleaning, Sizing and Conditioning: The first cashew processing operation is the removal of foreign matter and dirt from the nuts. The nuts are collected from the ground after falling from trees. Apples are removed along with other foreign matter. At the simplest level, the nuts can be sieved by hand using a three quarter inch (20 mm) mesh sieve to remove dust and dirt (ITDG, 2000). The cleaned nuts are then conditioned in preparation for removal of shell. Conditioning increases the brittleness of the shell and thereby facilitates its removal.
(2) Soaking: The next step is to soak the nuts in water to avoid scorching them during the roasting operations. This can be done by placing the nuts in a (40-45) gallon drum or vat and filling it with water until all the nuts are covered. After being left to stand for about 10 minutes, the water should then be drained off via a plug near the base of the drum. The drum should then be left for periods of not less than four hours in order to allow the water left on the surface of the nuts to be absorbed. The process of covering the nuts with water, darning and standing should be repeated with the same nuts about three times until a moisture content of 9% is reached. Whether the production output runs from (2-10) tonne per day, a simple cleaning and conditioning arrangement can be used. Two people open the sacks of harvested nuts on a stand and clean the raw storage until the soaking process begins. Two vats are useful because one can be emptied while the other is being filled (ITDG, 2010).
(3) Roasting of Cashew: There are different methods which are using for cashew roasting in India such as Sun Roasting, Open Pan Roasting, Drum Roasting and Oil Bath Roasting and Stem Roasting. At present, in India stem roasting is applied hence we would focus on that only in detail. The steam process was an innovation of 1980s. This process involves roasting by direct application of stem to dry nuts (Prabhu, 2001). Raw nuts are stem cooked at about 120-140 ibs/sq inch pressure, then nuts are allowed to cool for 24 hours and taken for shelling. Shell oil can be extracted in later stages by crushing. Nuts are shelled by hand and leg operated shelling machines (DCCD, 2010).
(4) Cashew Shelling: Cashew nuts after roasting and cooling are to be shelled to remove kernels. It is a careful process and one has to take sufficient care while making cashew shelling. The hands have to be protected from Cashew-Nut Shell Liquid oil which is highly corrosive, hand gloves should be used for cutting work. The commercial cashew processing units use foot operated shell cutters (mechanical device) for shelling. This device consists of a pair of blade (knives) shaped in counter of half a unit, which could be operated by foot. The blades cut through the shell all around the nut, leaving the kernel untouched. After shelling the kernels, shell pieces are separated manually. The nuts have to be grouped into various sizes matching pair of blades of appropriate size (DCCD, 2010). Nowadays automatic cashew cutting machines used by processors replace manual cashew cutting work. It also reduces workforce.
(5) Drying: After the shelling is over, the next step involves drying of cashew kernel. The kernels after shelling will have moisture content of more than 6 %. Drying of kernels is necessary to prevent fungus attack during subsequent storage and facilitate peeling of testa. The kernels are to be dried to moisture content of about 4-5%. This is done by drying the chambers in hot chambers at 70-80 c in perforated trays for about 6-8 hours. Uniform drying could be achieved with a cross flow drier using forced hot air circulations through the kernel layers. For uniform drying, the positions of trays have to be changed frequently, as scorching may occur at hotter places. Excess drying of kernels results in they becoming very brittle leading to higher breakages. After drying, the kernels are kept in the moist chamber for 24 hours which facilitates easy removal of testa (peeling) and reduced broken kernels (DCCD, 2010).
(6) Peeling: After drying, the next step is of cashew peeling. In this stage, testa is loosely attached to cashew kernel, although few kernels may have already lost tests during prior operations. Manual peeling is generally performed by gently rubbing with fingers. Still those parts attached to kernels are removed with use of bamboo knife. Approximately 10-12 kg kernels could be peeled by one person in a day (Zam-Ali, 2000).
(7) Grading: Here cashew kernels are graded as per colour, taste, weight, and size, it increases commercial value of cashew kernels. Commercial value of cashew kernel depends on individual grade.
(8) Packing: The normal packing for export is in airtight tins of 25 lb in weight. The packing needs to be impermeable as cashew kernels are subject to rancidity and go stale very quickly. The tin will be familiar to most tropical countries as it is a replica of the four gallon kerosene or paraffin oil tin.
If possible the tins are made locally as movement of empty tins overseas is expensive. Alternatively, it might be arranged to purchase components are finish the manufacturing locally. This may be done by arrangement with tin manufacturers. The output of a tin manufacturing line is usually too large for one consumer but some cashew nut processors have in fact installed their own tin making plant and supply other processors (Zam Ali, et,al, 2000).
After filling and weighing, the cap should be soldered on in preparation for the ‘vita pack’ process. This consists of removing all air from the tin and substituting this with carbon dioxide (CO2). The advantages of packing cashew kernels in carbon dioxide are twofold. Firstly, carbon dioxide is an inert gas and will not support life. Any infestation that may have been present is therefore arrested. Secondly, carbon dioxide is soluble in cashew oil and goes into solution as soon as the seals are made. In a short space to time, it can be seen that a decrease in pressure takes place as the carbon dioxide goes in to solution and the sides, top and bottom are drawn inwards. Thus the kernels are held tight in the tin, preventing movement and breakages during transport. Carbon dioxide, being a heavy gas causes the upward displacement of air and will remain in the tins after the filling process. Some large-scale machines will operate on six tins at a time, creating a vacuum in each and then filling with carbon dioxide. Some processors do not have vacuum pumps and displace the air in the tin by feeding in carbon dioxide through small hole in the bottom of a side of the tin.
The carbon dioxide value is turned off when all the air has been replaced. The holes in the tin are then sealed, with the hole at the bottom of the side of the tin being done first, and the one on the top last (Zam Ali, et,al, 2000). Thus, cashew nuts go through different processes and after that they become eatable product. Over a period of time due to advancement in processing technology, process has become simplified and producing more. Most of the processing innovations have been taken place in the Indian cashew factory. At present, all cashew processing machinery is being developed in India. Innovation in cashew processing machinery over a period of time is one of the reasons that Indian is global leader in world cashew economy.
(The author is social scientist and chairman, The Institute for Natural Resources, Kolhapur. He can be contacted at patilparashram9@gmail.com)
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