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Abstract
The cashew nut production in Tamil Nadu has a significant role for giving employment and income to the farmers as well as to the state government. The cashew crop cultivation has great contribution for the social development and steady growth of the state income. Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu was considered to have the maximum area and production of cashew than the other cashew production districts in the state. Production of cashew of the country accounted presently 23 per cent of the global production. The total area of cashew cultivation is 77 per cent in Tamil Nadu among the other parts of India. It is cultivated over 99,168 hectares. The cashew is cultivated on around 720,000 ha in India, yielding an output of 450,000 MT per year and an average productivity of 710 kg/ha.The cashew kernel during 2016-17 was Rs.5169 crore and accounting around 21 per cent of total global cashew export. The Indian cashew industry is facing the double whammy of plunging exports and weak local prices that have hit profitability of the processing units in the country.