‘Kernals imported in the guise of animal feed’

The Federation of Cashew Processors and Exporters has alleged that the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) has been diverting all Central grants to a group of big exporters while providing no support to small and mid-level processors.

Office-bearers of the federation said here on Friday that some CEPCI members had been importing kernels from other cashew producing countries, misdeclaring it as animal feed. ‘‘This inflow of kernels, if not blocked, will completely destroy the domestic industry. Some council members are part of it and they are doing it using benami companies,’’ said federation president Nizamudeen I.

They said that the council should make their position clear in the matter and release the list of companies involved in importing kernels.

The federation members said that the stand of the CEPCI had been 'discriminatory' and as per its revised norms, majority of them were denied membership in the council. ‘‘You will be made a member only if you export 30,000 kg of cashew annually, which means there is no place for small and mid-level exporters. All the executive members of the council are big exporters and the ₹4-crore grant sanctioned by the Central government is divided among them. If you check the grant and other financial aid details provided by the council in recent years, you will find that a group of companies owned by one person and some others have been the regular beneficiaries,’’ they said.

The federation representatives demanded a change in membership norms by inducting all processors who exported a minimum of 1,000 kg of cashew a year. ‘‘Also we want a CBI probe into the allegations of corruption in the recruitment at the CEPCI,’’ Mr. Nizamudeen said.