KOLLAM: As the moratorium declared in the cashew sector on proceeding further and initiating coercive actions by the banks against accounts declared as NPA expires on May 31, the Cashew Exports Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) has called for an extension of the moratorium till December this year, hoping to implement the revival package it had submitted to the central and state governments. The package had sought help from banks and financial institutions for the rehabilitation of the cashew industry in the state.
The CEPCI suggests the banks withdraw the charges it had imposed as penalty interest, additional interest, and crystallisation charges. The interest for the remaining loan amount should be brought down by 50 per cent while the rest should be given by the state government as aid. The loans should be rescheduled as term loans that could be paid back in seven years with low interest rates. Loans should be sanctioned for lower interest rates by including it under projects for mechanisation. The banks should also offer 33 per cent overdraft facility to the units which are now operational.
The package suggests that the state government provide financial aid on interest default and give salary aid of Rs 100 per cashew worker per day to compensate the extra production cost during the modernisation phase of factories for three years. It says the wages and bonus calculation methods are unscientific and hence changed. It also opposed wage revision during the revamp stage.
The CEPCI recommended that the central government give prior effect for export incentive restoration, complete withdrawal of import duty on cashew, giving half of the interest paid by the investors as an one-time support to compensate value depletion. The CEPCI has urged the government to direct banks to extend moratorium until December 2018 as it is hopeful of getting their suggestions implemented to revive the industry. It had also submitted a roadmap to the central government which contains the instructions to make the country self-sufficient in cashew by 2025, by producing 20 lakh tonnes cashew indigenously.
